The Exclusive Blacksmith
by ArrowAce87
Summary: Lisbeth has always cared for those around her, her friends and her adoptive family. But what if she could care for the one she loves most? In this altered take on SAO Lisbeth explores the world of Aincrad while growing closer to the infamous black swordsman. Retold from her memories, actions, and emotions, join Lisbeth on this adventure of wonder, drama, and sacrifice!
1. The Nightmare

**FOREWORD:**

 **Thank you for deciding to read this AU story. I've always wanted to explore more behind the characters of SAO. In particular Lisbeth. I hope you find this as enjoyable to read as I found it to write.**

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 _"Players, I wish you the best of luck."_

 _The enormous cloaked figure began to dissolve out of the sky and suddenly the sky flickered from the ominous red of the announcement hexagons and back to its almost beautiful red and orange sunset. It seemed out of place, such a beautiful afternoon, looking down upon us as the terrifying horror that had just been revealed began to sink in._

 _"My God…" A sharp scream tore at my ears and then, as if being awoken from a trance like state, the entire square erupted with screams and yelling. People were yelling for release, for mercy, for salvation._

 _Salvation from this injustice. This terrible, terrifying horror of a game._

 _My chest froze, and I felt my mind lurch into a panic. How could this be? Would I never see my family again? What about the real world? Was I going to die here? I can't die here. I can't die here!_

 _I felt my knees go weak. My eyes began to water. I could barely breathe. I sank to the floor._

 _Shocked, I stared at the floor. Kabaya's words echoed in my mind. "...There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game, if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system, forever; and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."_

 _"I'm going to die here." I said softly to myself. Everything seemed to be tuned out of my mind. The people around me losing their minds, the calls for help. The sobs. I could barely feel my own limbs as I just knelt on the floor. Tears were streaming down my face. I didn't want this, I didn't want to risk my life. This was just supposed to be a game! It's just a game!_

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My voice shrieked into the dark room. A cold sweat coated my freezing body. The darkness was...icy. Freezing.

The bed, what little I could see in the dimness of the room, it all seemed foreign. Too comfortable. Too different. That's when my mind lurched into fear. I had no idea where I was. I couldn't tell what inn I was staying at. There was a faint light coming in as if from other taller buildings. Wasn't this the back of my shop? Panicked I began swiping furiously at the air. First my right hand then my left hand. I was desperate to figure out where I was. But nothing happened. No menus. No context. Disorientation ran rampant through my mind until I saw a little flash from a nightstand next to me. A little blue light was flashing. Thoughts and ideas began to churn as I reached out, panicked and fearful towards the blinking light. I touched the cold metal rectangle and suddenly a picture lit up, hurting my eyes with its bright light.

Finally reality came crashing down upon me.

I looked and saw myself and Kiri...no...Kazuto in the picture. We were smiling and looking a bit frail, but still smiling. I had put up bunny ears behind Kazuto's head just as we had taken the selfie, our first day out of the hospital. It was the background to my phone. An older model considering it was almost 2025. The light was blinking because Kazuto had sent me a message.

It read simply: _"Hey sweet dreams, see you tomorrow!"_

The date read: December 20, 2024.

Tears roll down my cheek as I pulled my knees to my chest. The room was coming back into focus, it was the real world, this was my real-life room. Not some inn or some room in some virtual world. But my room.

It had just been a dream. A dream from a terrible nightmare that went on for two dreadful years.

I laid my head back and thought of the time I spent trapped in that game. Death game really… trapped inside of the NerveGear headset that I thought was a miracle at the time. A device to give me a life-like simulation of another world. It proved to be virtual jail for my brain. Two long years trapped in that virtual hell.

But it wasn't all nightmare stuff. I mean, I did meet Kazuto, I met Asuna, Andrew, Keiko, and even Tsuboi…however weird he could be sometimes. I met my virtual family and they got me through thick and thin. I made amazing friends and we really did share some incredible memories. We shared moments of heartbreak, of panic, but we all made it through together. I looked back at the picture on my phone. Kazuto looked so happy. I unlocked it and sat there, looking through the recent photos. We had been to a park, we had visited Andrew's little bar, the Dicey Café, and we had taken a group photo with some of the other SAO survivors. The tears of fear were now tears of joy. We had made it out. My adoptive father from SAO was right, Ryou, he was right, I didn't die.

I sat there, looking at the phone and smiling even more at the pictures of Kazuto and me. I felt shy again around him. But he didn't seem to mind. When he had rolled into my room on a wheelchair I hadn't even hesitated. I had hugged him right there. I hadn't cared that he looked so hollow, he meant everything to me. And the kiss he had given me, meant the world to me. It had been a sloppy kiss on the cheek, but it still counted. We had just sat there for an hour, letting all the emotions wash away, knowing we had each other.

The memories were all flooding back. The moment I forged Asuna's sword, Meeting Kazuto, the beautiful views we shared and the moments when we comforted each other. It was all powerful and real. It may have been a game, but Kaz...no...Kirito, taught me to really live and...love. I brought up his message. I didn't think he would mind getting a message from me at three in the morning.

 _"I couldn't sleep, but I can't wait to see you soon again!"_

Sent.

His warmth, his kindness, his protection. All of it, he's too good for me. He was loyal to the end. A little...well a lot aloof at times. But then again...we were trapped in a life and death game. I couldn't expect him to always think without worrying about life and death. But since he had gotten out he seemed different. He seemed happy. Calm. It seemed to me that parts of him were coming out now that had been trapped before, trapped because of the looming death threat over our heads. Humor, openness, tenderness, it was like a cloud lifted up from him. I couldn't be happier. Sword art had wore on him far more than he wanted to admit to anyone. There was only a bit of a month, towards the end where he seemed to relax. Perhaps it had been the feeling of acceptance, or maybe it had been feeling at ease with everything. Still on Floor 22...in our beautiful little cabin he had found the perfect respite, even if had been ultimately temporary.

A smile touched my lips at the memories. It had been a good little cabin. As my mind ran through each day, I felt my face heat up. All...the memories, the quiet relaxing, the gentle touches, everything we did with the time we spent there, came rushing back to me. Each moment was something to cherish.

A buzz shifted my focus. Pulling up the metal rectangle, my fingers rushed to open the message, wanting to lap up anything my Kirito was sending me.

 _"You couldn't sleep either? Nightmares again? I've been writing down my thoughts on SAO. It really helps."_

He knew exactly what I was feeling, knew me better than I gave him credit for. But his mind was right.

I couldn't just go back to sleep now. Not with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. So, forcing myself to get out of bed, walking carefully without crutches the doctor urged I use, I got my laptop. It too was older than most models. I couldn't even begin to describe how frustrating it was to get all those system updates when I had first turned it on in two years. But, I decided right there I had to start writing these memories while they still felt fresh, at least the important ones, because perhaps writing my story, would finally let my mind rest easy. Maybe it would help me fall asleep, and stop these nightmares.

 _"Thanks for the tip, I'll keep writing till I fall asleep. Love you!"_

I held my breath, waiting for his response.

A buzz.

 _"Anytime Lisss-beth. ;) Don't be too tired tomorrow! Love you too!"_

I rolled my eyes. Oh he knew how to tick me off. But I just couldn't get mad at him anymore.

With that, I powered on my laptop and began to type. I started with that day when it all began in that square. When that nightmare turned from joke into reality…

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 **A/N: If you've enjoyed it so far, expect it to pick up! Expect adventure, romance, tension and emotional heartache! This will only take place within the original SAO game and there will be no ALO within this story at least. I feel that whole arc was really to save Asuna and if she isn't the main love interest then I just find it difficult to rewrite it to fit this AU.**

 **For those of you who do follow me and the stuff I write, you'll notice this is one of the very few first-person stories I write. I just feel this form works better for what I'm trying to accomplish. Enjoy!**


	2. Blacksmithing? Why not?

**A/N: If you read this chapter before 12/1/2018 then you will notice that it has been heavily rewritten to bring it up to date with the rest of the style and quality of the later chapters of this fanfic. This was done because many people seemed to drop off substantially after reading this chapter, yet those that stayed remained consistent after hitting chapter 3. I hope the rewrite of this chapter adds on detail and is a joy to read!**

 **As always, thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review or PM me! I love talking with my readers.**

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Warm droplets ran down the cheeks of my face. My entire world had just become a living hell. This was supposed to be a game. A fun adventure that took you into a different world. It wasn't supposed to be a death game! I didn't want this, I didn't want to risk my life. This was just supposed to be a game!

The crowd in the square thinned somewhat. The people ran for different areas of the city, desperately seeking a way out. It was just a mess. Colors, yelling, screaming. All around me the desperation was palpable. Fear was driving everyone mad. How could it not? One minute I was fighting a boar in a grassy field and now I was realizing how lethal that very boar could have been. The yelling was now growing even more desperate as names were called out, people who had logged in together were all trying to find one another...

But I couldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to move. Instead I sat there, crumpled on the ground. Hollow. Empty.

I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. I just was. Shock gripped every part of my body. A terrifying shock washed over me as I realized I would never leave this virtual hell. Never would I see my friends again. Never would I hug my mother or see a real sunset, never would I shake real hands with a person or go on a date. No. None of that. I was trapped in this hell of a game and death was all that awaited me. My mind struggled to be believe it. Nothing in me wanted to play this sick joke, this terrifying nightmare. I needed to get out. To be free. Thoughts passed through me as I desperately thought of a way out. I didn't want to trust the giant hooded figure. I didn't want to believe his words. Maybe he was lying, maybe all he had said was just a joke...maybe dying was a way out…

It was then that a strong hand gripped my shoulder, tenderly bringing my eyes to look up at the hand's owner. That one hand, that one touch, saved my life.

The hand belonged to a man. He knelt in front of me and matched his eyes with mine. "Hey there, are you ok?" came his shaken, but still grounded voice. It brought me back from the world of ever darkening thoughts and back into world of the public square. "Are you going to be fine?" he prompted again, this time I found myself lost in the stranger's eyes. His face radiated warmth, albeit with traces of fear, but nonetheless he was an oasis of calmness amidst the torrent of emotion sweeping through my chest.

A quiver, that's all my voice was. A shattered broken whisper. "I…I don't want to play" came the words, likely drowned out in the cacophony of the square. Despite the thinning of the crowd, several thousand people were still standing, crying, or just laying down in shock. I looked at the man, my empty eyes stared into the older man's skull. Only then did I notice the other two men who surrounded him. In any other case I would have looked at the trio with suspicion or concern. Three older men talking to a young girl was after all, not exactly something that didn't raise questions, but in this moment, this moment of desperation and fear, I could not have cared less. My weak voice bore into the first man and with only slightly more determination, or perhaps hope, I asked him directly, "I…don't have to play, do I?"

The man frowned slightly before gesturing to the other men. "Well, I'm afraid many us don't want to play." He sat down in front of me as if it was just normal to sit in the middle of a public square. "But it seems we have no choice young lady." I could feel how empty my gaze felt. He shuffled around with his hands, as if trying to find the right words to say. But nothing came to him. We sat in a fragile silence until my mind came to a resolve. I didn't want to face the odds of this death game. I didn't want to partake in this hell for the sick pleasure of its creator. My voice, still quiet, but now with a sickening determination spoke up, "I'll just jump off the tower then. It has to log me out right?"

The trio of men suddenly shuffled into action. They came closer to me with expressions of fear and concern. One of the other men immediately tried to dissuade me, "Whoa now, miss" came his panicked voice, "just hold on, you saw the news bulletins, right?" "Yeah," replied my broken voice, "but they had to be faked...there's no way...there has to be a way out..." some faint dark hope consumed me. Some part of me just wanted to wake up, to tear off the helmet from my head, but I knew in my chest that it was hopeless. It was futile to hope for salvation...so really...what I was saying was that I wanted to die, die by own hand. The man seemed to react with tremendous concern. "No, the bulletins are not fake…I recognized one of the faces, I was a beta tester with his...his name's gone from the game…those news clips weren't fake, miss, they were real!"

It didn't matter. Some part of me knew they were real. But nevertheless I felt some strength return to my limbs and I stood up. I didn't want to play this. I didn't care. If I was going to die, I was going to chose to die. I was not about to let some stupid program that wasn't real kill me. I didn't want to let some stupid monster ambush me. I was going to make the choice. Immediately several hands gripped my arms and shoulders. The first man started questioning me, "Wait, where are you going?" he asked, fear dripping from every one of his words.

The words didn't even spill out of me right. Each one was choppy, broken, much how my spirit felt. "I'm going to...I'm...going...to j-j-ump from the tower…I don't want to die…by this stupid game…" The embarrassing mumble continued to leave my lips as fresh tears filled my eyes. I was afraid. So, deathly afraid of everything.

The voice spoke again. "Whoa now, you're not going to die ok?" The confident voice radiated determination as his hands pulled me into his chest, pulling me into a warm embrace. Feebly I fought at him, pushing at his chest, trying to break free. "I don't...want to die…I don't want to DIE…I DON'T WANT TO D-D-..." each sob was followed by another choke, another wail. Every part of me was breaking. Left trapped in his arms, my legs went weak again, collapsing against the protective embrace of the man's forearms. Slumping, like a rag doll, my body collapsed back onto the floor, caught by the man's tender hands. I sobbed. Fresh tears and wails finally emanated from my vocal chords as I sobbed into this stranger's chest. "I…I'm…so…scared…" This stranger's chest became my only solace as fresh tears continued to spill out of me. I lost track of time, how much time I sat there in the lap of this stranger, in the middle of the square, crying into this man's chest.

Finally, after I had felt my tears begin to dry up, along with my sobs growing weaker, the stranger spoke again. "Hey, its going to be ok…we're all scared ok?" I looked up at the man, my eyes still red and my face all flustered. "I figured there would be a few of you in the square like this." my mind felt puzzled until I looked around me. There were others like me. Young boys and girls, but also older men and women. Sobbing and broken in the square. Around them were people trying to reach out, comfort them, reaching out where possible. Not everyone could just run off merrily with such a threat of death looming over their heads.

"My name Is Ryou." The first man said, his older clean cut face reminding me somewhat of one of my uncles. Another man, with a thin face and wide eyes smiled at me and introduced himself, "Zaki is my name miss." Finally, the third man, shorter with a thin mustache across his upper lip, spoke up. "And you can call me Gaya, I'm a former beta tester." The three men were all older than me and yet they all wore faces of concern and comfort.

"Lisbeth…call me Lisbeth." my voice stronger now returned the honor, letting them put a name to my crying frame.

Ryou spoke up with fatherly concern in voice. "Well Lisbeth, we're here to help. No one is going to die here ok, our friend Gaya here has got a sure-fire way to get us out safely." I blinked, my hopes beginning to perk up. Almost perhaps too much, as Gaya noticeably tried to play down my excitement. "Hey there, not a way out of the game right now, just a way to survive." As I would face later on, hope was a dangerous emotion and having it shattered was always dangerous. "Oh…" came my flat reply, my shaky voice betraying a rising sob. "But don't worry!" Gaya tacked on with a wide grin, despite the sadness behind his eyes, "I'm a Beta Tester, there's no way this can fail! I guarantee it!"

Zaki smiled at me and began explaining. "I've heard rumors that a lot of players are going to be trying to clear the game. They're going to be out on the front lines, clearing the floors ahead of us." My chest tensed up again and a chilling cold raced through my heart. "I'M NOT GOING OUT THERE!" my voice instinctively tensed up at even the hint of fighting. I was never going to risk dying by this stupid game. But as soon as the words left my lips, Ryou chuckled and patted my back in a fatherly manner, "No one is talking about going out there Lisbeth, but you know a bit about this game, right?" I nodded. "Then you'll know that players need swords and equipment, but that equipment is going to wear out and need repairs at some point." Gaya, feeling his chance to add more, jumped in with a smile. "And I know exactly how to fix equipment and make better equipment!" He beat his chest as if in bout of pride. "I was a master blacksmith during the beta, tried my hand at crafting a whole bunch of tools, I know the mechanics better than anyone else here."

Zaki looked back at me to keep hammering home the point. "We're all friends in the real world, and we all planned to become master crafters when we got the game." He chuckled for a moment before a look of sadness touched his face, echoing the emotions everyone in this world must have been feeling. "Of course, we all wanted to meet up for beers after today's play session, but it looks like we'll be drinking here instead. Still, if the players out there are going to try and risk their lives for us, then we need to be sure to back them up right?" Ryou smiled down at me as he soothing ran his hand down my back, reminding me of all the time my own father had done the same when I was nervous or scared. "And it just so happens we need another person in our little blacksmithing guild to get started." His eyes grew tender as he gave me a warm smile. "I know you have a family to get back to Lisbeth, lets make sure they get their daughter back. Join up with us. You won't be risking your neck out there. But you'll be making a difference, you'll be helping everyone here get out of the game." he paused for a moment as he hugged me warmly.

I felt at a loss for words. It had been a bit over two hours since the terrifying truth had been told to us and all I had wanted to do was die. But now I felt a shot at real hope. A reason, however weak, to keep myself going.

"Will you promise that I won't die?" my weak voice perked up as my eyes met Ryou's.

"I promise!" Gaya interjected, a cheerful smile playing across his face. "As do I!" Zaki jumped in, his narrow face looking kinder than ever. Ryou was the last to speak. "Lisbeth, I can't deny that you remind me of my own daughter. You remind us of our own daughters and families." Gaya and Zaki nodded with somber looks, "I promise you'll get back to your family, we're going to get out of here, safely."

I felt warmth in my chest for the first time in what felt like forever. "Ok." my lips whispered. I tried again, tried to show them, as much as myself, that I would try to follow them and work with them. "Ok. I'll be a blacksmith then!" There it was, part of my sing song voice. A grin danced on my lips, and even if it felt weak, and somewhat forced, I knew it would make them feel better, knowing they had saved a young girl from suicide.

"Awesome!" said Gaya standing up. "Well then Lisbeth, lets get an inn to stay at, it's getting late, and I know the best one in the city!" I watched as Gaya stood up, he was just a bit taller than me and walked with a funny gait down the street. Eagerly he led the group as he rambled off more information about the game and its blacksmithing engine. Zaki listened and eagerly jumped in to ask questions and contribute to the conversation, clearly trying to put the announcement to rest. I walked behind them, feeling more positive with every passing step despite my fears. They were encouraging me to not wallow in my own thoughts. Part of me still wanted to jump...to see if I could get out of this world. But a much larger part of me now wanted to stay. Stay with these kind men and help them get through the game. In this now terrifying world, perhaps all we had was each other, and even if I wanted to escape it all, I just couldn't bring myself to do so, knowing these men wanted to care for me. If I could make their time here better, then dammit, I would.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," Ryou spoke up from behind me. He walked with his hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you out."

I smiled up at his determination.

I knew in that moment that what he was saying was true. I really was going to make it out.

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 **A/N: Hey there! Its ArrowAces87 here, I'm trying to get this slight AU to feel grounded and based deeply in the canon. As a result, I used the picture from Lisbeth's smith shop to create Ryou, Zaki, and Gaya, the three men in the photograph with Lisbeth. This story won't be just about Lisbeth's first year though, I'll be adjusting the timeline a bit so Kirito and Lisbeth meet up a bit sooner, but think of this as SAO from Lisbeth's perspective, how she meets Asuna, falls in love with Kirito and clears the game with him. I'll be sticking as close as I can to the anime, deviating only when it will make the relationship more impactful or when it's necessary. Hope you all enjoy it so far. Leave a review and see you soon!**


	3. The Lambent Light!

The skeleton monster before me stumbled backwards and then exploded into a beautiful display of shards. I brought my mace to my shoulder as I felt the adrenaline leave me. As the shards all rose upwards, a screen appeared before my face.

"Congratulations, Level 15 Unlocked. Blacksmithing Fully Unlocked."

I smiled while gasping for air. "I did it Gaya…" I managed to croak, much to his laughter. "Well done Lisbeth!" came the warm reply from the short man behind me. He stood with a Mace ready to help if I needed it. "This is great now! You're finally there with the rest of us. A proper blacksmith!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. Gaya, Zaki, Ryou. They really were something else. Not long after the game began, they took me in as an adoptive daughter of sorts. We trained a bit in the areas around the Town of New Beginnings and then slowly crept up behind the advancing wave of front-line players. Going through cleared out areas, the four of us were keeping to easier areas that we could level up in. I remember how terrified I was of risking my life in any battle. But after their kind encouragement and guarantees of close watch and careful protection, I worked up the courage to fight. I had been only rising in level ever since.

Snow fell from the sky, it was late January. Nearly three months since it all began. The winter was cold, but thankfully I had already gotten good enough to craft some heavier clothes to ward off the snow. Floor 19, with its dungeon named "Hill of the Cross" was where I found myself now, carefully leveling up my skills.

"Now that you're at level 15, we can finally get our rotation going!" Gaya happily patted me on the shoulder as we turned to walk back to the city of Ralberg. "With the four of us taking turns, our little guild can now make masterpiece quality weapons all year!" He let out a hearty laugh. "I can already see the orders coming!" I smiled, letting a cautious bout of glee take over me for the first time since this game began.

"Sooo, will I get a cut?" I teasingly asked as I jabbed at Gaya's shoulder. Another warm laugh. "Well of course! We're all in this together!" He looked at me and smiled even more. "First off though, we're going to need to get you the proper equipment, then we need to make sure you know the basics before we get a cycle going." I held up my hand to slow him down. "Alright, Alright! We can talk all that stuff after we eat, I'm starving!" After a short pause he flashed me another smile, "Well of course you are! You've been slashing monsters all morning!"

It was a nice time in Aincrad. I felt safe. The 22nd floor had just been cleared a few days prior and it seemed that nothing could stop the players from advancing. Every week a player made newspaper came out, detailing the successes of the past week, players to be remembered, and new tricks for the game. But it was really the tricks that Gaya had been telling me, that made me feel safe. Him, along with Zaki, and Ryou kept advising me to feel ever safer in this virtual world. It no longer felt as dangerous of a place and the scary stories I did hear were all from the brave fighters out on the front lines, adventuring and risking themselves for us. The least I could do was help them. And believe me, I was trying!

As I hungrily lapped up the broccoli and cheese soup in front of me, Gaya continued to explain. "So your first month as a blacksmith. We timed this just right too! You'll be able to make masterpiece swords this month, and every three months after that. We stacked our cycles too. I go first and make masterpiece quality equipment, just like I did for December, then you do the same this month. Zaki will pick up blacksmithing for next month followed by Ryou. When Ryou's month is over, I'll pick up the crafting again and then it'll be your turn!" I looked up from the bowl of soup long enough to see him chuckle. "You got food all over your face." He handed me a napkin and I quickly wiped away the cheesy soup before digging in again.

"This means we have to make sure the top players know about us. We should go back to the Town of New Beginnings!" I smiled up at his optimism between mouthfuls of food. Gaya really made me excited at times. During the first few days, I had altered between fits of tears and determination. It took me nearly a full week to really settle into Aincrad. And during that time, it was Gaya who had made me laugh, Zaki who had taught me fighting skills, and Ryou who had been a father to me. Adoptive father maybe, but together they were the closest thing to a family I had.

"Sounds like a plan then, will Zaki and Ryou be there?" I asked, finally taking a break from the food I was shoving down my mouth. If there was one thing that was great about having them, it was that they tried to spoil me at every step of the way. Trying to keep me happy. I sometimes felt ashamed that I had made them care for me like this, especially after I had scared them into thinking I was going to kill myself on that first day. I didn't want to be a burden but seeing how Ryou's face lit up when I had tasted a delicious sandwich for the first time really struck me with how much they cared for me. Maybe they saw a bit of their own families in me. Maybe that's why they tried to protect me as much as they did.

"Yep! Already messaged them, they say there's already a wave of players trickling down from the Assault team."

"Really? How come?" I felt anticipation bristle through me, the Assault team always had the best stories. I felt I could enjoy the game through them without actually getting myself into danger.

"Well as far as I hear, it seems that Floor 25 is going to be a doozy. I'm willing to guess that the players want to get some good equipment and test it before going in." Gaya responded matter-of-factly, peering into his menus before looking up and smiling yet again. "I think I know where we should set up. Now finish up young lady, and let's get you ready with your equipment."

* * *

I looked at the little carpet. It looked nice, but it was still lacking. My blacksmithing clothes felt heavy but rugged and the little anvil and hammer were the best we could afford at the moment. Gaya had spent most of the trip over explaining the nuances of blacksmithing. He even let me try on some of the metals we had in inventory. I messed up the first two ingots, but then I churned out a strong steel blade. It was light but powerful. I had never seen so much pride in Gaya's eyes before. He took the sword and bragged about it to the others before saying he'd try to sell it that day.

Ryou looked thoughtfully at the little Vendor's Carpet under the tree. "Hmm…I think it could use a sign." He spoke kindly as he looked at the setup. Zaki nodded and pulled a wooden board from his inventory. Handing it to me he commented: "Think of a simple name for the shop."

I really lacked imagination sometimes. But I wanted people to remember my name. I wanted to feel like I helped the powerful players on the Assault team. So, I suggested in my cheerful voice, "How about Lisbeth's Smith Shop?" Gaya nodded. "Simple and gets the point across. I think it'll do nicely." Ryou knelt and patted my shoulder. "Well then. We'll be over with Gaya at his carpet over there," he pointed at another nearby tree just outside the city where it all began. Several people had carpets around, but Ryou and Zaki had claimed the two best spots early on. "If we see any potential customers, we'll send them your way ok?" I suddenly felt a moment of insecurity as if he was leaving me, "Wait you're not going to stay here?" Zaki shook his head. "No, we think its best if we engaged as many players as we can with the examples Gaya made. Since he can't craft any master pieces now, we'll just send players over to you if they're still interested."

"Oh..Ok." I felt insecurity grip me again to which Ryou reacted as if he knew me for years. "Don't worry Lisbeth, we'll be over there, just holler if you need anything ok?" Smiling up at my adoptive father I put on my best winning smile. "Alrighty then, I'm open for business!"

Hours past and several customers went over to Gaya's vendor's carpet. Many players seemed impressed with the weapons and even a few purchased some swords outright. Ryou and Zaki directed people towards my shop and I got to practicing my skills. As customers brought their own metals or paid for some of the metals I had in inventory, I crafted more and more. Churning little ingots of metal into swords for them to use. Being so focused on Blacksmithing from the get-go meant that the weapons I created, no matter how bad they were, were still much better than the ones they could get from the relatively low-level monster drops so far. I had never felt so proud of myself. The joy on some of the customers' faces was unforgettable. I was happy to know they were walking away with something that might keep them safe. I might even be saving people!

But I'll never forget the one customer that became one of my best friends.

It was on the third day after having set up shop on that carpet. I had hammered out nearly thirty swords and I felt great. The customers were even paying more than our little blacksmithing guild had expected! We had made a killing already and we had just bought an even better anvil with money to spare for some chocolate cake! Of the swords I had made, some had been sleek blades, and others blunt hitters. The algorithm for the game still meant I never knew exactly what I was going to be getting, but I was still working on some excellent weapons.

It was early in the afternoon when I saw a group of players walk out to our area. They were stronger than most players. They wore armor that I could tell was powerful, even if my appraisal skill was weak. And I got nervous.

I mean of course I would. Word had gotten around that I was making some incredible weapons. But would they be good enough for these players? Zaki stood up from my little carpet. "Alrighty Lisbeth, I'll be pitching some of the blades you made to these people. Wish me luck!" I bid him good luck and immediately put on my game face. I had to impress. I wanted to get lots of customers.

As the players neared Gaya's carpet the trio of men sprung into action. First were the warm smiles and polite offers to show off the wares. Then came the salesman part of the act, showing off the strength of the swords, even breaking some cheap monster dropped swords. I sat back on my carpet and looked at them with a grin across my face. It was great seeing them work. Next month I'd be with them and Zaki would be in my place. Hopefully we crafted even more blades, I could go for more chocolate cake.

That's when I noticed a younger player. She seemed to wear a hard look on her face. Her hair was long and came over her shoulder. She wore a red skirt and white blouse. There were bits of armor she had slung on, but what caught my eye was her weapon. A rapier. It looked like a basic one, but it clearly looked like it needed repair. Could I make one better? Those were some of the hardest weapons to craft.

I couldn't hear her voice from where I was, but I could tell she was asking a few questions with a skeptical look on her face. Some of the other players with her, who seemed more imposing than her, seemed to address her as a leader of sorts. Or at least it looked that way. Finally, I caught the moment. The moment when Gaya made a sell. He winked at the girl and pointed towards me. He said a few more words and the girl reluctantly made her way over. Perhaps she wasn't sold on the benefits of custom weapons or maybe she didn't believe what my adoptive family was saying I could do. Either way, I could feel she had a challenge for me.

"Hey there…" came her quiet voice as she squatted down in front of my carpet. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop!" I replied with a cheerful smile. My face couldn't be more of a contrast with her hard look. But I seemed to get through to her a little bit. I pressed on. "What can I do for you today? I can craft swords and upgrade some of your equipment!"

Her hard look softened as she met my eyes, she seemed my age actually, I can't imagine how brave she was for being out on the front lines. "Well…uh Lisbeth, I'm looking for a sword that is better tha-" I cut her off to make her aware of what I knew. "Than your rapier? Seems like it's a monster drop what you got right? Worn away from the battles you fight?"

That set her off. "Well hey! It plenty powerful! And its not a monster drop, it's a Wintry Stroke, a forged weapon from-" I interjected right there, making sure she didn't get the wrong idea.

"Hey calm down! I didn't mean that in a bad way, I just meant that it doesn't look all too different from such drops." She looked surprised before stuttering. "Y-Yeah, well most people underestimate what I'm capable of with this rapier."

"Well I'm not most people! I'm a blacksmith!" I pumped my chest out with pride and then set on inspecting her sword. The blade had seen heavy use and looked almost broken at its worn edges, my skill already detecting where the rapier was used most often. "Hmm, whoever made this wasn't very good. It's a good rapier, no doubt, but it's not a masterpiece. It wears out too fast and it's not that powerful. See? You can barely deal 50 percent of the original damage."

The girl blinked at me before trying to chastise me again. "Well if you think its not good, what can you make?!"

I flashed her my winning smile. "Well first, what should I call you?" I extended my mitt and I felt relief when the angered girl took it. "Asuna."

"Well Asuna, right now I can make masterpiece swords. If you happen to have a rare metal, then I can certainly craft something much better than this. "Oh yeah, how much will it cost?" she slyly asked. I put up a hand. "Hold on now, I won't charge anything until you're satisfied." Why did I just say that? Was I getting cocky? Ryou told me to always ask what the customer was willing to pay! "You serious?" came the shocked look from Asuna.

"Of course! And if I can't make anything better than I'll boost your rapier for 25,000 col!" Shock and confusion seemed to run through face just like it ran through my head. I was totally getting cocky. This could break my reputation! "That's way cheaper than the blacksmiths on floor 20…"

I winked and teasingly jabbed at her shoulder. "See I'm already a better deal."

"Ok fine." Asuna took a deep breath and brought up her item screen. She touched some settings before setting down a metal ingot on my anvil. "I've been saving this for a while now. Got it on floor 15 as a rare drop." I looked at the ingot as shock seemed to ripple through me. Its stats were amazing! Durability and speed were off the charts.

"WOW!" I exclaimed. "This is hyper titanium crystal!" I let the shock run its course before looking up at Asuna's pleased face. She spared no moment to take a jab at me. "Too rare for you?" her grin just as sly as mine. How lovely. She could make me feel pressure now. "N-N-No." I stammered as I kept looking at the statistics. To craft this would be an honor…I had to accept, such a forging could make or break my career.

"I just…have never seen such a rare metal." I blurted out as I kept inspecting the ingot. I looked right into Asuna's brown eyes. "I promise if you let me craft this, you'll get the greatest rapier ever." And that's when I seemed to really soften Asuna's eyes. She wore a smile now. "Well that's more than what any other blacksmith has promised me. Most say they don't even want to touch this metal."

I looked puzzled and then realized many probably didn't know what I knew about blacksmithing, after all, from what Gaya told me, very few players even bothered with crafting during the beta test.

"Well, like I said, I'm not like most players, so I'd love to take a swing at it." Asuna gestured to the ingot. "Knock yourself out, no one else even wants to try it."

I cracked my knuckles and got to work. I placed the ingot in the little furnace that I had with me. It could only hold one piece of metal at a time, but it was certainly trust worthy. After a few minutes I took out the metal and placed it on my anvil. I breathed out slowly, closing my eyes for a moment before focusing back on the metal. I could feel Asuna's eyes peering curiously at me as I lifted my hammer up. I recalled all the instructions Gaya had told me. I called up my skills as a blacksmith and focused on the exact minute pattern for a rapier.

I let my hammer ring. I hammered with the most amount of concentration I had ever felt. I poured my soul, yes all of it, into that rapier. Carefully I kept at it. Putting one strike perfectly next to another. The metal was helping me as well. It almost felt as if the game was guiding my hand to strike an even better blade. Little by little I kept at the recipe for the blade. The rapier was going to be amazing I could tell. I was following every strike up with another perfectly. I forgot the rest of Aincrad was even around me. I was that focused on this blade.

As I wrapped up the pattern, the ingot began to glow as it slowly transformed. It grew longer, thinner and shown brightly. I closed my eyes somewhat to block out the light, it was that bright! And finally there it was, a beautiful white silver blade with a handle that even looked like it matched the colors that Asuna was wearing. It was incredible. I felt myself drained as I picked up the blade. I looked at its statistics and was just blown away.

They were much higher than I expected. The weapon was a true masterpiece. Then I read its name.

Exhausted I extended the weapon out to Asuna. "There we go… The Lambent Light." I felt myself gasping for air after nearly not breathing during the whole forging. I waited for her reaction. Maybe she expected better, maybe it wasn't what she was looking for.

The response shocked me.

"Oh my god! Lisbeth! This rapier is amazing!" She exclaimed. Her hand was shaking as saw her go over the statistics. Her eyes wide with shock. "THIS IS JUST INCREDIBLE!" I sighed happily. My job complete, I leaned back against the tree and enjoyed the shade for the first time. "Told you I could do it…" I muttered with a grin on my face.

To my surprise I felt her arms around me suddenly. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" She exclaimed. I knew I made a good sword, but wasn't this a bit much? "Hey now Asuna! I'm glad you like it! Just come back anytime you want me to fix it ok?" I then slouched a bit. "But make sure its not like today, I'm pooped, that was draining." Asuna giggled. "I bet it was, you were so focused for like half an hour!" I chuckled before I saw a message pop up.

"Asuna sends you a Friend Request"

I smiled and hit the blue button. "Great Asuna, you know where to find me!" The girl just smiled and opened another window. "Does half a million-col sound good?" I shot right up and felt my face go pale. "That much?! YES! That's good!" I stared in shock, most weapons I made sold for 50,000 col, this was incredible.

"Oh, please Liz" she said, calling me by a friendly nickname. "This sword might get me to the end of the game, its incredible!" I grinned wildly like a little kid. "Well be sure to tell your friends!" I exclaimed. She extended her hand and I shook it with my brown mitt. "I'm glad I stopped by today Liz." I smiled back. I was now making friends. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all. 

* * *

**A/N: IT'S ME AGAIN! Just letting you guys know I've edited some of the previous chapters to flesh things out more. This chapter was a bit longer. I'll be increasing length of the chapters as time goes on. As always, Read and Review!**


	4. The Shop and Anti-Crystal Zones?

The sun shone brightly upon the medieval town of Mishe. It was final days of June and the ripe summer days were in full force. Though the upper floors of Aincrad were above us, the sky still looked a bright blue. I wandered excitedly through the cobblestone roads and the cozy looking buildings. Ever since the Assault team cleared out the floor, the town of Mishe had been the place to be for almost all the players that hadn't opted to stay in the Town of New Beginnings. Because it wasn't my masterpiece crafting month, and because I had pleaded Ryou for a week, I got to take the whole day off with Asuna. We had planned this little shopping trip to Mishe for weeks.

"Oh, come on Asuna, just look at these prices!" my voice cheerfully sung out above the sounds of the market. The two chestnut orbs from my friend turned to look at the Non-Player-Character's wares, trying to discern where my excitement was coming from. "You know, there's a shop on the other side of town with much better deals on outfits." I glared at her. Couldn't she let me have my moment? Not even one victory? Was that really too much to ask? "Ugh…I don't want to walk all the way over there, it's like half an hour of walking!" Asuna shot me a look that was riddled with tease and laughter. "Oh please, is your stamina stat really that low?"

That was it. I had to retort. She asked for it. "Oh please Asuna, I can't believe you can't make god like weapons! Gee, you gotta go beg your best friend to make your stuff all the time! Why is your crafting stat so low?!" I grinned smugly. Yep. She wasn't getting away from that.

The resulting poker face was worth all the legendary S-Class food in the game.

"Ugh. Fine." The Lighting Flash huffed, "we'll just teleport there." Grabbing my hand, she pulled out a blue crystal. The Crystal shattered in her hand as she called out a location across the city, and in an instant, we were there. "You're lucky I have hundreds of these." She sneered at me as I brushed her off. "Yeah, Yeah, whatever. Now where is this shop?" Asuna's eyes narrowed with a mischievous glare. "Just you wait, I've got a surprise in store for you." Uh-Oh. "Hey…I don't like surprises." Asuna didn't even acknowledge me, opting to giggle as I followed her through a set of paths before coming face to face with a five-story building.

"Mishe's Clothing Emporium"

"You gotta be kidding me." I spoke out somewhat disappointed. "A five-story building for just clothes?" "I know right!" came the excited reply. I glanced over at my friend. I couldn't tell if she was excited or trying to annoy me. But then I saw how she had her hands clapped together and a giddy look on her face. Ok. This girl was actually excited to go shopping for more clothes. "I learned about this place from Argo, she said it has everything!"

I scratched my read trying to remember where I had heard the name Argo, then it hit me, the rat looking girl who had a ton of information. She had put my name into the player's guide book a month or so ago, saying I made fantastic weapons. I remember how proud Ryou had looked at me when I showed him my store's name appearing in the little book. Our little family had celebrated with more chocolate cake than I could eat that night. Soon they said, they would help me buy an actual shop all of my own, but for the moment, they wanted to stay on the 27th floor as ore was plentiful there. I didn't really mind however, the darkness of the city of Ronbaru was actually very nice to sleep in and it never got too hot out on my vendor's carpet.

A jerk of my hand jerked me from my thoughts.

"Come on Liz! I want to show you something!" Goodness this girl had energy. Smiling I followed her as we dove right into the store.

Five hours ticked by in an instant.

At first I thought I would hate it, I didn't really care too much for clothes since I wore my blacksmithing gear most of the time anyway; but then little by little I found myself falling in love with skirts, blouses, swimwear, coats, stockings…everything! "Look at this!" I found myself crying out as I held up a grayish pink dress. I loved it instantly. I tried it on and looked at myself in the mirror. It wrapped my body perfectly and came down just over my knees. "Yes! I'm so getting this!" Asuna hugged me from behind. "I love it Liz. But how about this?" I got out of her way and looked at her dress. It went down to her ankles and looked equally elegant and fearsome. It was the epitome of knight elegance, its dark red accents contrasting with a beautiful white and gray color. "That looks great! But isn't that like the sixth dress you're getting?" I asked, with a bit of teasing and concern in my voice. I knew I couldn't afford that much.

"Please Liz…" Asuna casually addressed me as she kept looking at herself in the mirror. "I have so much col I don't even know what to do with it." She kept turning in the mirror before nodding to herself as if she was making a very important decision. Turning to me she caught my look of concern as I did the math on my budget. She snapped in front of me as I was looking at my inventory. "Hey Liz. This is my treat; your money is no good here."

I looked at her in shock. "Wait really?!" She blew me off. "I get way more money that I need. The knights also pay me a nice salary seeing how I lead most of the boss raids too." I looked at her in awe. I really was lucky to be friends with her. Yet for all her power, strength, and admiration she garnered from the players, she was still a girl like me. Even in a world like this, one could find a version of normalcy. It was nice to have the chance to kick back and enjoy a day of leisurely shopping. She turned to me as if lost in thought.

"Oh! That's right! There's something I'm totally getting you." I blinked. "Wait hold on, how do you know if I'll like it?" "Doesn't matter. Follow me!" She exclaimed and pulled me right along, the look of joy and satisfaction on her face was enough to get me excited. We made our way to the back of the top floor and then I was flabbergasted to see the labels on the clothes. They were actually trendy work clothes!

"I came by the other day and I just had to show you these." Asuna immediately went to a rack and pulled out a red dress with a white apron. She then held up a set of knee-high brown work boots that seemed to go right along with it. "You have to try this on!" she exclaimed. I cast her a skeptical look before she frowned and extended the clothes towards me. "Try it on…" Half commanding and half teasing. "Alright Alright!" I found myself only donning the clothes to please her.

I stood in the mirror. I looked…like a waitress of sorts.

"Now that looks really good on you!" Her smile was warm and encouraging. "You think so?" I asked as I twirled around in the dress. It looked nice, and it had better stats than my current blacksmithing outfit, "But doesn't it make me look silly?" I countered.

"Nonsense!" the Lightning Flash retorted. "I think you'll actually boost your sales! You can set yourself apart! Stand out from the other blacksmiths! … I mean they are kind of boring…"

"Hey, take that back! We're plenty interesting!" I tried to shoot back, knowing all too well that at a distance, you probably couldn't tell me apart from Gaya when we were forging. "Sure…" Asuna's voice trailed off with a chuckle. "Liz, this looks great on you! Seriously! Plus, you get better stats, you won't get as overheated standing next to a forge all day!"

I couldn't deny her logic. She did have a point. Truth be told, the more I spun in the mirror, the more I realized that red and white dress did seem to suit me well. "Well ok, but even if its better than what I wear, no one will take me seriously Asuna!" I picked at the skirt's edges. Even back in the real world, I didn't really wear flashy dresses. I stuck to pink colors but still rather modest clothes.

"I reckon people will take you more seriously." I turned slowly to look at my friend's serious look. "I'm being honest Liz, you'll be prettier, and you'll be telling your customers that you're way past all the basic blacksmithing skills with this kind of gear on, I mean you are a master blacksmith aren't you?" I took a moment to think on my skills, knowing I still had a way to go… "HEY WAIT! What do you mean I'll be prettier?!" Asuna's eyes narrowed mischievously. "What?" she giggled, "I didn't say anything." Oh she knew how to get on my nerves. But then I took another look in the mirror. She was right. I looked way nicer in this than I did in those heavy leather overalls I used to forge. Not to mention the ragged worn yellow shirt I wore. This red dress was way more my style.

* * *

We dropped nearly half a million in col.

I balked when the price tag was finally tallied up. Asuna didn't even flinch. She just smiled at the NPC clerk and handed me my bag with the dresses and items I had picked out. "Here you go Liz, my treat."

She was one hell of a friend.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking through the city's many gift shops and restaurants. We even found a place that made better food than what Asuna could cook with her skill level! I made sure to pay that tab, just watching Asuna pout as she whined about how she would eventually cook that well was worth every penny.

As we headed towards the teleport gate, at the end of a day of much shopping, we suddenly heard a commotion coming from some of the players gathered around the local info broker.

"Anti – Crystal zones are out there! Be Wary! Be Careful!"

I cocked an eyebrow at Asuna. "Anti – Crystal zones? Is this guy for real?" If there was one person I could rely on for good intel, it was Asuna. Seeing how she was on the front lines all the time, there was no doubt she would have run into the trickiest of traps. But the look of concern across her face worried me. "I've heard rumors of them…but just that."

I felt fear all of a sudden, a kind of fear I hadn't felt since the first day in this nightmare. Teleport crystals were the last resort lifeline. If you had one, there was no way you could die! I made sure to carry several any time I went out to grind out levels, and even then I made sure I never went too deep into any dungeon without Zaki or Ryou. It was a literal matter of life and death!

We closed in on the information broker. He held the latest version of the Aincrad Weekly as he preached out to the crowd of onlookers gathered in the square, "Guild wiped out just this week! Only survivor was a beater! Anti – Crystal zones meant no escape!" The crowd of players looked at the broker with disgust and horror.

"The only survivor was a beater?" murmured one.

"I bet he lured his guild in to take all their stuff!" called out another.

"Player Killers are the worst!"

"A beater as a PKer, this just gets even better!" came another sarcastic jeer.

My hand clutched at my chest. I had forgotten so many times that people died in this game. I spent my time in carefully mapped areas. I always knew what to expect. I hated surprises, especially if they could kill me. So, I never took risks. I couldn't, and it's not like Ryou would let me anyway. Goodness, that man would be worried about me soon if I didn't get back to the shop.

But this bit of news changed things. If there indeed were areas where I couldn't use my teleport crystals…I could die…Gaya could die…Zaki could die…I could lose Ryou. My eyes watered up at the thought.

Asuna's voice tore me from my ever-darkening train of thought.

"How do you know this! Who told you?" Her voice unmistakably shook the gathered crowd as she authoritatively addressed the information broker. The crowd now gathered in the middle of the square was muttering quietly. I felt terribly out of place. Just being next to Asuna became a spotlight on me. She was one of the most powerful players in all of Sword Art; who hadn't heard of her legendary charges on the bosses by now? Everyone was muttering about her, and by extension me. I just gripped the bag of clothes tighter and looked down at the cobblestones, suddenly the most interesting thing in the game.

The information broker turned to The Lightning Flash. "Oh well, I thought you would know already." He spoke in a somewhat frightened voice.

"I don't, spill." Came the markedly flat commanding voice. Her entire personality really could change completely from one second to the next.

The information broker seemed to back off a little bit before he shared the information in earnest. "The beater who survived shared the information with one of the information brokers. He said it was a rigged trap that no crystals of any kind worked in the area." Asuna's gaze narrowed. "Why was he the only survivor? Beaters don't join guilds." The broker, looking quite nervous as he stared down one of the most powerful players in SAO, "Well, he said he was much higher than the other guild members, that's all I know!"

A whisper came from the crowd behind me: "I knew it, he used the trap to get their items, what sly dog." I stood horrified. Were people really this cruel? It was just a game. Why kill for items!

Asuna finally stopped glaring at the broker as the crowd watched carefully. The broker timidly extended a copy of the newspaper. "Here's the article, I'm sure the Knights of Blood will find it useful." Asuna began reading the article replying with only half her attention: "We will indeed…" her voice trailed. I could tell she was worried. I was worried for crying out loud, and I wasn't even on the front lines!

The atmosphere was palpably different as we walked to the teleportation gate. "Hmm…here, take this back to your family." Asuna said as she handed the newspaper back to me. "I'll have to talk to Heathcliff about this." I took the paper and tucked it away in inventory. "Heathcliff, is that your guild's leader?" "Yeah, I don't know what we would have done without him when we reached Floor 25…" My memory immediately went back to that day, it had been crazy as Zaki had been crafting all sorts of new weapons for the returning players. Gaya, Ryou and me had spent two sleepless nights fixing all the equipment for the Assault team. We had made money, but not without a deep feeling of sorrow. We had made the blades many on the Assault team had carried into battle…and they had lost nearly a third of the players fighting. The number of people coming back for repairs was much lower than had headed out. If I failed them, with bad equipment…did that mean I was I guilty of killing them?

It wasn't a question I liked to think about…

"Hey Liz, sorry if it got sour towards the end, but thanks for the day off." I blinked, my face probably blank in confusion as I turned to face her. "Hey, don't be apologizing, it was a great day!" I tried my best to put on a cheerful smile for Asuna, but she was clearly lost in thought, probably going over a dozen different battle strategies that could be put in practice. "Oh…you know me…always thinking about winning the next fight."

I put my bag down and took Asuna's hands in mine. "Hey, relax. I'm sure whatever you face next will be beatable. You've made it this far, and I'm sure you'll be soon freeing us all. You're much stronger than us, so try to relax a little ok?" She made an effort to smile at me, smile at my cheerful outlook before letting out a sigh. "I can't relax…not for long anyway…just look at what happened. I go away for a day and then this sort of threat comes up. I have to fight every day. Or we'll never get back to the real world." I squeezed her hands. "It may not be the real world, but right now its all we got, don't beat yourself up over it, there's nothing you could have done against that beater." She let out a small chuckle. "Maybe." She then looked into my eyes before cocking her head to the side and delivering one of the most random sentences ever. "Hey Liz, you should dye your hair pink…"

I once again, stared blankly at my friend.

"What?"

"Dye it pink." Asuna said softly with a smile. "I think it'd look good on you, it would go well with your eyes and dress." I chuckled slightly at the thought of dying my brown hair pink. "You think so?" Asuna's chestnut eyes relaxed as she looked at me. "Yep, for sure," she then looked down and let out small chuckle before looking back at me, "Well I mean if your dad lets you." I giggled at the thought of my adoptive family's reactions to my new looks. Boy would they throw a fit.

"I mean hey, if he thinks of me as his daughter, I gotta have my rebellious phase then, right?"

We stood there laughing quietly by the gate. "Well…I better get going." Asuna ended the moment. "I have to get back to the front lines tomorrow anyway, and its already late." I could sense her steeling herself back up. Locking away her cheery persona back behind the armor and face of The Lighting Flash, the powerful member of the Assault team.

"Right…" I sadly responded. Letting go of her hands she waved a quick goodbye before teleporting to the Knight's headquarters on Floor 25.

Feeling suddenly very alone I stood atop the gate and spoke loudly: "Teleport Ronbaru!"

* * *

It had been just over a year since the game started. The December snow was falling thick and heavy once again. The spirit of Christmas was in the air.

Yet nothing was as great as the smell of eggs sizzling on a frying pan. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I drowsily woke up. Growling and groaning as I equipped a simple shirt and pair of pajama pants before making my way downstairs.

I was greeted to Zaki and Gaya making a hearty breakfast in the kitchen. Ryou meanwhile sat by the breakfast nook with the Aincrad weekly in his hands. Smiling at my still sleepy expression he greeted me warmly. "Ah look who decided to get up guys? Did Lisbeth get enough beauty sleep last night?" It was too early to sass him back. "I never get enough sleep…" I mumbled as I sat down at the table. Gaya happily brought a cup of the game's coffee, supposedly it gave some similar effects to caffeine by stimulating my brain through the nerve gear, but it never worked for me.

"So…what's new?" I casually asked, trying to wake myself by drinking the black liquid before me.

Ryou looked down from his newspaper before looking outside at the snow. "Well ever since you dyed your hair and started wearing that blacksmith dress of yours, our profits have nearly doubled." I smiled fondly, remembering how much of a fuss he had raised when I came down from my room with fluffy pink hair. Asuna had totally been right though, it helped me stand out, even if I had to be a rebellious daughter.

Ryou could tell I was smiling at his remarks. "Now while I still think that you should dye your hair back…" I playfully scowled at him. "Its staying pink … Dad." I pretended to go back to my coffee while peeking out just enough to see his reaction. It was a priceless mix of joy and playful anger. He cleared his throat and continued.

"As I was saying, we've made a lot of money…and with the front lines now on floor 56, its about time we expanded upwards." I perked up, not even noticing the wonderful omelet Zaki placed in front of me. With all of us focusing on mostly blacksmithing and light combat, we had plenty of points to invest in cooking, and boy had Zaki done just that.

"So Lisbeth, the guys and I have talked about this, and we feel its time to give you and early Christmas present, your own shop on Floor 48."

It took me a second to process what he was saying before it hit me.

My own shop?! Where I could run my own business? Close to the front lines?!

"What! Are you serious?!" I yelped as I stood up at the table. Ryou nodded with a broad smile. I couldn't believe him. I glared right at uncle Gaya. "Is he for real?!" I shot at him, as he struggled to keep his own grin under control. "Of course, Liz! We've been planning this for a few months now, but the money you've brought in really helped seal the deal!" Zaki chuckled and joined in. "I can't tell if you're mad or happy Liz!"

I sat back down in disbelief.

My own shop, I'd be having my own place.

"YES!" I finally exclaimed, letting the wave of giddiness wash over me. "MY OWN SHOP!" The coffee finally hit me as I jumped up for joy. "This is awesome!" I nearly leapt over the table and tackled Ryou with a hug. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" I couldn't stop the happiness from infecting every bit of my body. A virtual shop shouldn't have been such a big deal, but when this game became your life…when it seemed to be the only thing you could regard as reality, such an achievement meant so much more. Especially when you had such a close family to share your joy with.

I spent the rest of the morning discussing all sorts of layouts and equipment for my store. I couldn't stop talking about it. It was going to be amazing! It was around midday when we went up to city of Lindas. It was one of the newer floors and lots of people were filtering about, checking wares and buying all sorts of rarer items. It was after all close to the holiday season, and even if people were trapped in a death game, it didn't hurt to try and celebrate.

The little building was just perfect. It sat atop a little hill and had access to a river that ran right by it. A single large water wheel provided power for a myriad of sharping tools, and the furnace was much bigger than anything I had used before, including the one in our shop on floor 27!

"This is huge! I can prep all kinds of metal ingots in here!" I exclaimed much to the approval of Ryou who was setting down some boxes. "Of course you will, don't forget young lady, since you do have the highest blacksmithing skill here, only you can make the kinds of rare artisan swords that truly impress…we'll be sure to give you plenty of work to keep you busy." I let out a mock complain. "Oh how you all just work me into the ground!" I couldn't quite make it seem sincere though, I was just too excited.

It wasn't until the late evening that I felt somewhat satisfied with my progress moving in.

I had my room upstairs filled with most of my personal belongings, including the vast wares of clothes Asuna had bought for me, and the shop downstairs was beginning to take shape. I had decided to spend the night by myself here, seeing how it was too far to be commuting between the old family shop and this one.

Swords lay strewn across the floor. Cabinets and Racks still hadn't been put together and I found myself standing next to a corkboard near my forge.

I sighed for a moment as I pinned up a picture.

It was almost a year old…I still had my brown hair and I was waving my hands wildly with a happy grin on my face. Gaya stood behind me to the left in the picture and Zaki stood to my right, Ryou stood in the front with his trademark solemn expression. We had taken it when we first bought the shop on Floor 27. The sign was nearly identical to this shop.

We seemed happy. We seemed … normal. Odd wasn't it? To think of normality in a place like this… A game where people's lives hung in such a precarious balance. Where life and death were rolling dice for rights over our fate. I clutched my chest as I thought over the past few months.

Ever since the appearance of Anti-Crystal zones, I had been training less and less. I still went out if Uncle Gaya or Zaki went with me, or better yet, if Ryou was my rear guard, but I almost never went into dungeons anymore. You couldn't make me. I didn't want to take the chance at all. Sure, I was level 49 by now, and I could probably survive a few threats, but the fear of dying took ahold of me. I wasn't the only one. Even Ryou and the others didn't go out hunting on their own. When they did, they tried to team up with some of the other blacksmithing and artisan guilds.

There was something to be said about strength in numbers. The Player Killers guilds out there didn't like even odds, so they went for solo players. Still, at some point, we ended up risking our lives anyway to keep leveling up and stay in business. For as peaceful as a life of nothing but crafting sounded, I eventually had to get materials, and I couldn't always just buy them. So any time I had to get rare ores, I felt scared. It was why I had turned to Agil, a strong axe wielder who also ran a goods shop. He had a reputation for driving a hard bargain, but he always seemed to treat me politely. Agil, along with a group of other shop owners, worked closely with my blacksmithing family. He seemed to try and get me amazing deals on all sorts of rarer ores to use so I didn't have to go risking my neck. When he first approached us, I already had a pretty well-known reputation as a crafter of some powerful weapons. Asuna's Lambeth Light was still the talk between the top tier players as a legendary blade, but I was also known for being fair. That seemed to stand out to him. He seemed to naturally want to keep me helping other players in a fair manner. His attitude towards treating people fairly reminded me of Ryou's outlook on the game.

After Asuna paid me so much for her sword, I had gone to Ryou to pitch increasing our prices. He had shaken his head solemnly and reminded me of why we were blacksmiths in the first place. "Its not a game Lisbeth…" he had spoken, I could hear his voice clearly in my mind. "This is a virtual jail of death, we can't try to rip players off. We're here to help them out every step of the way, not steal from them so they can't afford other gear. We all have to help each other. Charge a fair price Lisbeth, and you'll be treated fairly in return."

His voice was soothing in my mind. He was right too. I had to focus on helping others…making sure others could fight for us.

That was when I realized I had never spent a night without someone from my adoptive family. Right from day one, they had been there for me every night, making me feel protected, safe.

I swiped my hand to pull up messages. Without even thinking I sent him what I was feeling: " _Hey Ryou, I feel lonely without you guys, thanks for having taken me in a year ago. I wouldn't be here without Dad."_

 _"I'll always be there for you Lisbeth, don't you ever forget that."_ came the swift reply.

I felt a small tear streak down my cheek as I smiled before getting to bed. He really would always be there for me. No matter what. What would I do without him?

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the sort of fluff chapter, but I had to set up a lot of things that will matter later. Also, as you may have noticed, I've been editing the other chapters. Think of this a sort of living document? As I comb through typos and think of better ways to phrase things, you'll seem me editing lots of things. Thanks for reading!**


	5. The Temperature of the Heart

If there was one thing to love about the little city of Lindas, it was the weather. Despite the cold of January on other floors, Lindas was pretty warm, and having to work all day next to a forge meant that I often forgot how cold the winter was elsewhere.

Still, cold or not, January was my month to forge all the rare weapons our little guild would sell, and Ryou made sure I didn't forget it. A multitude of orders were nearing completion and many others were scrawled out on papers pinned to my corkboard. Guilds and players from all over reached out frequently to our guild for batches of swords or weapons. It was difficult to keep up with the requests but seeing how there was probably less than a dozen high level blacksmiths in all of Aincrad, it wasn't too hard to understand the backlog. As a result, seldom did I lay down my hammer for a break.

But there was always one customer for whom I made exceptions...

"There you go, all done!" I looked at my reflection in the blade. I had just finished sharpening the rapier, in its now mirrored surface was the perfect reflection of my pinkish red eyes.

"You're the best Liz, thanks." Asuna leapt off of the stand to grab her rapier and handed me a hundred in col for the maintenance. Despite seeing nearly a year of use, the Lambent Light was still her main weapon. I couldn't even begin to describe how proud that made me, knowing my blade was still breaking through the front lines.

"Sure! Any time." I said with a warm smile. Now with the front lines getting ever more difficult, it could sometimes be nearly a month between days where I could hang out with Asuna. I missed her, she kept me company and cheerfully listened to me complain about the world of blacksmithing. Plus she kept up with my humor, something Ryou could never do. I loved every moment of her presence, it really was a joy to have her visit me.

But, her unexpected appearance today seemed a bit troublesome.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be out hunting with the guild today?" subtle concern seeped from my words.

A slight huff came my friend, "Yeah, I know, they've been getting on my nerves lately, so I figured I'd blow off a little steam and come down and say hi before going back up." Her face seemed to darken as she thought about her guild. Whatever conflict it was, it certainly was ticking her off. "I just can't stand all the rules and procedures we've come up with! They have a body guard outside my home for crying out loud!" Her hands balled up before relaxing once more. "I'm sorry I shouldn't be dumping this on you. You can't do anything."

"Hey now! I'm always here for you ok? Come and tell me anything ok?" I tried my best to sound supportive, but if I was honest, I wasn't sure I could be of much help. I had only ever met high tier players as customers, never as the people I'd be trusting my life with. I had no idea what someone might experience facing such or stresses day in and day out . Even when I did go out hunting, it was always with family in a relaxed setting.

"Thanks Liz, maybe we can grab dinner tonight?" her pleading eyes berated me, "Sure! Just shoot me a message ok? I'll be here!" I said with a wide grin. Even if it was an escape from her responsibilities, her chestnut eyes seemed to light up at the thought of getting away from the guild. With that she smiled and waved at me as she left. "See you later then Liz!" she exclaimed, and I waved cheerfully back.

Still one thing nagged at the back of my mind as the door closed; wherever she went, she was never alone.

I mean I guess I wasn't alone either many times, but I had far fewer players to talk to. It was funny to think about my life in here in that way. I sold so many weapons and so many people knew my name, but I didn't actually _know_ people. It was kind of sad actually; just being a weapon's broker. Sure I was making an impact, but did people care? I mean about me? Care about who I was? Or was I just a glorified NPC to them? Providing better things than what they could find?

Letting out a sigh I got back to work. The rest of my morning went into putting together blades for a six-man guild. I think they were called the Fuurinkazan or something. They wanted some fast speed style blades and that just so happened to be my favorite kind of blade to make. They were light and quick to use, and I could make amazing ones without any rare metals. Though if I did need such ores, Agil always found me a good deal, bless that man.

Keeping at my work, my hands forged swords, filled at their edges and sharpened the deadly blades until the early afternoon. Only then did I allow myself a brief respite and set my forging hammer down. I picked up a sword and gave it a careful look, trying to see where I had gotten sloppy.

It was a solid blade, but…well…just not what I would be personally happy with.

"Hmm…Good enough…I guess…" I muttered under my breath. I couldn't afford to throw out the blade, and it was far and above better than what they had, but it still dinged my personal pride to offer anything less than my best.

The bell in front of my door rang out, but there was no loud voice from Ryou, or laughter from Gaya, or even a witty remark from Zaki. That could only mean one thing: Customers!

Quickly disabling my work gloves I checked for any smudge marks in a mirror hanging by the forge. I couldn't be looking like a filthy mess in front of my customers, it was all about presentation!

Darting up the stairs, I opened the door to the shop. Almost on reflex my face cast a broad smile and my signature greeting, "Welcome to Lisbeth's Black Smith shop!"

I looked around and saw a dark-haired guy looking at one of the weapon cases. He stood taller than me, but not by too much. His clothes were unassuming but were dark colored as well and he had a long sword equipped to his back.

 _I never thought this guy would change so much in my life._

Almost as if ripped from his thoughts, he turned around with a slightly confused expression across his face. He didn't even seem like he knew what he was doing here. "Oh, Hi, uh-I was wondering if you do custom orders." He stammered out the request seemingly clueless on how to address me; clearly, he wasn't the best with words. I gave him a once over…and I had to be honest with myself. He didn't look like he had that much money. He probably couldn't afford a custom sword, and even if he could, I didn't feel comfortable taking all of someone's money. So I tried my best to let him down easy and get him to look at some of my cheaper swords; I mean I didn't want to shoo him away, but there's only so much I could do for a customer.

"I can, the thing is that metal prices are kinda high these days," apprehension spreading across my face, but it seemed to all fly over this guy's head. He looked at me blankly before responding, "Oh well I'm not worried about the cost, I just want the best sword you can make as soon as possible." As soon as possible! Gee! People could be so demanding. I know people praised me for good and fast service, but really? As soon as possible? He had to have big ones for asking for something like that. Couldn't he see all the weapons in the racks? Weren't any of these good enough for him?

"Well I make a lot of different swords, but if you have any idea of the quality of sword you want I can make it." ' _It's just going to cost you an arm and a leg…'_ I mentally finished. His attitude was kinda irritating as well, I mean its not like he even knew what he asking for, but I tried my best to have patience.

"Uh sure, one sec," he began, "Sooo, I'm looking for something either the same quality or better than this:" He unequipped his sword and put in front of me. It was still in its sheath, so I didn't really know what to expect. Based on how he was acting I expected it to be some cheap sword from the lower levels, something that I could maybe replace with a regular broadsword. I mean, after all, with how little money he seemed to have, he probably wouldn't think twice of an upgrade.

I held out my hands to take his sword. He placed it over my hands, and the second he released his grip, the sword just fell right onto my desk. It was so heavy! My eyes went wide disbelief. The last thing I expected was a monster of a sword!

"An Elucidator! This is the gnarliest magic sword a person can get from a monster drop!" I let my own bubbly persona slip out. I couldn't believe it! Who did he manage to steal this from?! I looked him up and down really quickly. There was nothing that stood out to me. No distinctive armor or gear that seemed out of this world. It was all subtle. I couldn't decide if he was actually a high tier player or just some lucky guy who got this sword from the dying corpse of some actual high tier player. My skepticism was probably beginning to show as he prompted me for a follow-up."

"What do you think?"

I thought for a moment. The Elucidator was certainly powerful. There were a handful of more powerful swords in the game, but many of those were all locked to the final tier floors. Thinking on my feet I turned around to grab an elegant sword. I had forged it from a combination of ores that offered similar stats to Asuna's rapier. It wasn't exactly up to par to an Elucidator, but I didn't really think he had actually acquired the sword himself. He had to have stolen it from someone, and knowing how sword power scaled with the person's skill level, I doubted he would notice the difference. I mean how could a player like him have earned the sword legitimately?

 _I really still regret having let him handle that blade._

"Hmm… what about this? It's the best sword I ever forged. I call it my masterpiece!" I offered with a smile. Even if I had my doubts about his skill, I knew players often fell in love with my weapons. If they liked it, they would certainly buy it, and there was no way I would part with this masterpiece of a sword without some serious col.

He took the blade and swung it around a bit. His face didn't seem to register any emotion. He just looked at it and hacked away at the air, as if feeling for the blade's balance. That was the first moment my mind started to take him seriously. The only players who ever felt for a blade's balance were the high tiers. _'This guy might actually be a real high tier player after all…'_

"I dunno, it's a little light…" came his feedback. Well duh he would say that, he was waving it around like a broadsword, but it was meant to be a sort of rapier. "It should be, I used a speed type metal to forge it." I countered, putting my perception of his skill level once again in doubt.

"I'd like to test it, if it's cool." He asked suddenly. Testing? There was no way I would let him walk out of my store with that blade on some trial run. "Test it how?" I asked cautiously, trying to not come across as rude. "You know, its durability." Before I even processed what that meant, he had already picked up the Elucidator from the table and placed my masterpiece in an X shape with it. He brought his arm back and I finally understood, he was going to charge up the sword for an attack.

This guy was an idiot! I didn't even hesitate to yell. "What the heck are you doing?! If you break your sword, I'm not responsible!" This guy was going to break his Elucidator! Even if my masterpiece was weaker in some areas, a player could only charge up one blade at a time, and even an Elucidator stood no chance, unpowered, next to my blade.

"If it breaks, then that's too BAD!" he growled as my blade turned a brilliant green glow and then came down on the Elucidator. I looked on, wincing as my blade came down, I couldn't believe he would be so reckless breaking his own sword!

A sharp crack rang out in my shop. I knew it. His sword broke. I was about to respond with a witty remark when I saw a piece of silver white metal fly across the room. It was the top of my masterpiece, its tip flung right into the wall. My voice didn't respond to my command as the realization of what happened slowly sank in. He broke it…He had broken my masterpiece.

My scream broke the stifling silence. HE BROKE MY SWORD! Desperately I took the handle and what was left of the blade from his hand. "You broke my…masterpiece." I whimpered in disbelief. How could he have done this?! I poured nearly a week's worth of savings into this blade! I knew I forged it right! How could he have done this?!

Wrath was now coursing through my veins. Even if it was a virtual world, I could just feel my body seething with rage.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I roared into his face, gripping the collar of his black trench coat. He wasn't getting away with this. I was going to let him know just how angry I was. Then I was going to make him pay for that sword. I had spent a bunch of time trying to make it!

"I'm sorry! I didn't think yours was going to break so easy, honest!" came his rather awkward reply. He was genuinely embarrassed, and I felt a pang of guilt, it was after all my overconfidence, believing that he was some low tier who got lucky with a sword, that got us into this situation. But the guilt wore instantly as I caught the meaning behind his words.

"Are you saying my sword! MY MASTERPIECE of a sword was lamer than you thought?!" I couldn't believe I was even in this situation. The nerves of this guy, to just come in, trash my prized sword and then claim it didn't live up to his expectations. I was seething, never had I dealt with such a rude customer.

"Yeah…something like that." Came his response. He wore his most apologetic face as well. I seriously did not know what to make of this guy. He was so infuriating! But nothing set off an alarm in my mind. I didn't feel malice from his eyes. Nothing like some other customers who had made fear for my own safety. That irritated me even more! I almost wanted him to look at me with an evil glare, so I could feel righteous about my anger. Instead his eyes carried a soft look, one that seemed equal parts amused and apologetic. I couldn't blame him, I probably would have been laughing at my own tantrum.

"For your information, if I had the right materials, I could make a buttload of swords that would shatter yours into a million tiny little pieces! You got that!" I yelled into his face. This guy needed to be aware that I was seriously capable of making some beastly swords, despite my apparent failure. But my little fit was getting me nowhere, and he knew exactly how to turn my words right against me.

"Oh yeah?" He started with a crafty smile. "That sounds like the kind of sword I'm looking for. As long as it can shatter mine though." His grin was driving me insane. He was just so FREAKING JUSTIFIED! I couldn't find a way to make him feel guilty much less pin him as the bad guy.

"GRRRR! Ok smarty pants but you have to help me make it every step of the way." I stammered out. My face was burning. I could feel that was probably in part due to Sword Art's over emphasis on emotions, but it probably wasn't far off from what I would be showing in real life. I was seriously so angry and ticked off by this guy's personality I didn't know what to do with myself.

"Seriously?" came his disappointed reply. I felt a sliver of relief creep up. He hadn't walked away yet, so clearly he was still interested in my offer, however angry it was delivered, and I could feel that I might just find a way to 'win'.

"Absolutely. And we'll start by getting the metal for it." I added on, smugly. I wasn't one to bow down from a challenge, but he was going to repay me one way or another for breaking my sword, and I was perfectly content being paid in groaning and complaining. As a matter of fact that would be the perfect way to be paid considering how I felt.

"I think I can handle that myself. I'd rather not have you slowing me down." My eyes sprung open. Oh no, he was not going to get away with anymore jabs at me.

"Don't you dare insult me, believe it or not, I'm an expert mace wielder I'll have you know!" My retorts sounded painfully childish, but I wasn't going to let this guy get away with his clever slander! If he was going to talk smack, then he wouldn't hear the last of it. I knew that if he really wanted a super powerful sword, he'd have to get it on my terms. I still had an ace up my sleeve.

"Suit yourself, so where do we find the metal?" he asked, still trying to find a way to get out of bringing me along.

"Floor 55, on the western mountain, there's a dragon there that eats crystals." I stated, trying to pique his interest, "According to the legends, its supposed to store a rare metal in its body." I was finally calm enough to put together a plan. I didn't have doubts about his abilities anymore. I mean he clearly had the sword skills to break my sword. How he managed to not break his Elucidator was beyond me but that didn't matter. I did want to make him a sword, but whether that was out of spite or genuine desire was still out with the jury.

"Floor 55 huh? Yeah, I should go alone." He tried to weasel me out of the quest yet again. But he was right where I wanted him.

"AAAANNNDDD, they say that in order to get the metal you need to bring a master smith along." I watched in silent glee as his face contorted into a mix of confusion and deliberation. "Still think going alone is a good idea?"

"I…"

I giggled selfishly, knowing I had won this battle. Oh I was going to make him pay for breaking that sword.

"Fine, just keep quiet and stay out of the way." He responded rather commandingly. There he was again, ruining my moment all while ticking me off.

"Whh – Keep quiet?" I felt wisps of fury starting to boil up again. I was about to chastise him again, but he cut me off by extending his hand with a smile.

"By the way, my name's Kirito. Looks like we're a party until we make that sword." I looked away in disgust.

"Yeah…whatever, Kireto…" I stammered out, not caring whether I mispronounced his name. I wasn't sure how to process his reaction. I wanted him to be pissed off at having to bring me along, angry! Not fine and ok with it!

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I can roll with it, Lisszzz-Beth." I cast him a defeated glance. This guy just kept finding new ways to annoy me. Frankly I was already second guessing if I shouldn't have just thrown him out when he broke my sword.

 _"We have to help others Lisbeth, for the good of all the people trapped in here…" yeah, yeah, get out of my head Ryou._

* * *

"Achoo…It's cold."

Because Lindas was so warm during the month of January, and because it had been weeks since I had gone down to Ronbaru, I had completely forgotten how cold other floors could be. We had been trekking up the western mountain for a few hours now, and I was deeply regretting not bringing anything.

"Well you should have brought a coat or something." Thanks captain obvious. I wanted to smack him upside the head.

"I didn't know that floor 55 was going to be this freaking cold." I retorted with my voice in shivers. I barely registered the set of pings from Kirito's menu, but suddenly I was draped with a black cloak. It was comfortable and instantly provided me with a much-needed boost to my warmth stat.

"Are you going to be ok without this?" I asked, I may have been cold but that was my fault, I didn't mean to make him suffer.

"You don't feel cold if you're disciplined." His voice crisp and as emotionless as the winter around me. Just like that, whatever pity I had for him vanished.

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working." I flatly stated. Yet despite his efforts to tick me off, I couldn't say I was too annoyed…his jacket was really warm, and he wasn't really treating me like deadweight. I watched him walk in front of me. The silence of the mountain was starting to get to me. I couldn't believe I was out here all alone with this guy, this was getting weird!

"What's wrong Lisss-Beth, giving up already?" his gentle teasing tore me from my thoughts as I tried to ready a response. "Not on your life!" I stammered, trying to shake my thoughts from him and focus them on how annoying he was. "And if you're going to be a jerk about it, you might as well call me Liz!" I managed to grumble. I couldn't let him get to me. There was no way I would let him forget about my sword.

"Ok Ok, got it, Liz" he replied with a smile. He said it almost with an endearing voice. Oh he was getting to me alright.

"Yeah well don't wear it out!" I angrily huffed before trekking to catch up with him. The snow crunching under our feet being the only sound to break the quiet on the mountain.

* * *

The crystal shards atop the mountain were a sight that immediately took my breath away. I couldn't stop looking at them. "It's beautiful!" I exclaimed with a little bit of a giggle in my voice. Staying near safe villages all the time had made me forget just how miraculous the world of Aincrad was. After all, a year ago I had donned the NerveGear for just that reason, to explore a world of fantasy. But with the subsequent death sentence looming over everyone's head, I had truly forgotten why I had logged in. It was rare moments like this that seemed to make it all worth it, to experience what I couldn't in real life. I leapt forward and was about to run over to another crystal formation when a strong hand tugged at the back of my neck. Twirling around I brushed off Kirito's hand with a bit of strain in my voice.

"What's your problem?!" I scowled. I wasn't his child. Besides, all around us there were nothing but these crystal formations, we weren't in any danger! "You should get your teleport crystal ready." He calmly stated. I was annoyed. It was the only thing he had requested I do since we started climbing the mountain, to have a teleport crystal ready for when he fought the dragon, but it didn't mean I wasn't annoyed.

"I know, I know, I'm doing it." I muttered as I pulled one out of my inventory. Regardless of what he might say, I was going to help him with this dragon. There were two of us, and Floor 55 had already been cleared by the Assault team, there was no way that anything too dangerous was still lurking around.

Still, as I looked up to show him I had a crystal, I saw the look in his eyes. He had hardened himself up. He didn't seem scared, but he also didn't look like he was about to have fun either… "And I'm handling this part on my own. Once the dragon appears, you're going to hide under one of those crystals over there. Don't come out no matter what."

Whelp, back to being pissed off at this Kirito guy. "Oh come on! I'm not a noob. If I want to help I'll darn w-"

"DO WHAT I SAY!"

I never got to finish my little ramble. I was frozen in place as the echo of his words made their way through the dips and valleys of the mountain range. The amused look he had in my shop was gone. In its place were two eyes that dripped of vengeance. His face had contorted into a scowl. Whatever bits of annoyance I was about to direct at him disappeared and in their place, a chill grew in my chest. This man had just shifted from being annoying to being someone fearful. I swallowed what was in my mouth and nodded lightly as I looked into his angry eyes.

Almost instantly his face melted, back to its almost cheerful playful annoyance. "Good. Alright, lets get going." I could barely keep up with him in my head. I had initially pegged him as a pretty aloof guy, and now I was starting to see his true colors. Any doubts in my mind of his abilities had evaporated. He knew what he was doing.

A loud roar echoed through the mountain range. I gasped instinctively out of fear, I knew there shouldn't be too much danger, but my heart was racing with panic now.

"Hurry up and take cover!" came Kirito's commanding voice. For the first time in this little excursion I didn't even hesitate, no fighting, no silly retorts came to mind. Instead, I ran for a pack of crystals and ducked underneath them. I clutched my weapon, a single black mace that I had crafted several months ago. It was my main weapon and I had trusted it with my life many times, but right now it felt weak and underpowered against the frightening shriek of the dragon. I stood under the crystals, not daring to come out, I clicked a button on its handle and a set of prongs ejected from the iron black head. I heard another screech and I closed my eyes. There was no way I was ready to fight this monster. I was stupid for accepting this quest. Those shrieks and howls were the sounds of death, and I couldn't believe that in my anger I was stupid enough to risk my life for this sword.

But I was safe where I was…at least for the moment, and I had a teleport crystal too! I breathed out and then dared to peer out from my hiding spot. It was only then that I caught a glimpse of the Dragon. An icy crystalline being rose from the edge of the mountain, clearly angry at the intrusion on its territory. I looked into its eyes and felt my whole chest lurch into a panic. It looked terrifying, everything in my body was screaming run, flight, curl up into a ball and cry. Instead its howling shriek kept me frozen in place under the protection of these crystals.

But as I looked on at the fearsome foe, I noticed the Dragon's attention wasn't on me, instead it was focused on the black figure walking towards it. In my panic I had even forgotten Kirito was going to fight this thing, and I watched in horror as he kept walking calmly towards the monster. If the dragon's looks and roar had me panicked, then Kirito's bravery, courage? had me stupefied.

The dragon stopped howling and then began to charge up an attack. Its mouth, riddled with teeth began glowing, its wings beating the freezing air atop the mountain and brushing up snow in a maelstrom of fury. The whole spectacle was unnerving. I couldn't tear myself away from the sight of its power, was this what ancient people felt when they fought a feral animal? Was this what real fear felt like?

I shook my head and saw the dragon getting ready to release its hell upon the figure below him. I felt utter hysteria overwhelm me. Kirito was going to die! All because I dared him to come with me! I was going to be the reason he died!

Guilt, panic, fear, and a myriad of other emotions flooded me. I screamed at the top of my lungs: "Watch out! It's a breath attack!"

My voice, for as loud as I yelled was just a whisper against the rage and fury of the dragon's screeching wail. I braced myself as the burst of energy was unleashed, the Dragon hovering as its shot hurled towards Kirito below. I was about to close my eyes to avoid watching Kirito die when the color of the sky changed. In one quick swoop the entirety of the bolt of energy had been deflected. I stood, slack-jawed at the sight of what Kirito had just done. In one move he had brought his sword to meet the dragon's fury of icy energy and sent it hurtling towards the heavens. My hands wrapped themselves tighter around my mace in sheer awe. Only then did my voice come back to me, to utter my incredulous thoughts. "Wow…and with that skinny sword…Who is he?" I murmured, equally impressed and awestruck. Is this what a high tier player could do?

The next few moments were filled with the greatest spectacle my eyes had seen in the world of Aincrad. I had seen Ryou jump over a rabid gorilla, and I had seen Zaki hit an elven warrior so hard that the monster had stumbled back several meters, hell I'd even seen Gaya race up half a wall just to get a better bashing angle in.

But I had _NEVER_ seen someone solo a dragon.

He seemed to fly through the air. A black blur of rapid movement. He slashed and cut and in an instant the dragon's arm was severed. I was stunned. He trivialized this foe. What would have been a death sentence for me and my blacksmithing guild seemed to just be another simple monster for him. He made me feel safe again…my chest calmed down and I felt heat flow back into my hands and feet. This was just another one of Sword Art's tricks clearly, making an enemy seem way more powerful than they were through fancy visuals. Nothing major. I smiled as I realized what was going on. As I watched Kirito slash and hack at the creature I felt a tinge of annoyance well up in me as well. If it was so easy to fight and hurt, then why was he taking so long? Guess I would have to help him out after all. I jumped out of my little igloo of crystals and stood battle ready towards the dragon. I yelled up at my party member: "Come on, stop playing it and finish it off already!"

The next few seconds were just a blur. I heard Kirito's voice, strained and panicked call out to me: "Damn it, don't come out yet!" fear lacing his words. I just brushed off his remark. "What's the big deal, you've got it right where…." as I turned from Kirito, an icy blur hurled itself towards me. Instantly all the terror flooded back. I didn't even get a chance to raise my battle mace. The dragon's mad dash slammed in my body and flung me out over giant hole.

I felt my voice let out a blood-curdling shriek. I closed my eyes. A myriad of thoughts started to enter my mind, images of my home, my father, my mother all inundated my mind, as well as the people I had met in this game. Asuna's eyes, Ryou's warm hugs, Zaki's wit, …Gaya's laughter.

I screamed more as I heard my name called out.

"LIZ!"

It was Kirito…probably trying to save me. But I kept screaming as I tumbled through the air. It was over. I knew it. I was going to die…my name was going to get wiped out…and my parents would probably be crying by my bed in some random hospital. All because I had gotten cocky.

"HANG ONTO ME LIZ!" A strong male voice suddenly yelled right into my ear. I felt my stomach lurch again as I felt the effects of freefall. A warm body wrapped around me and I instantly hugged it. I kept screaming, . This guy was stupid, but…well…at least I wasn't going to die alone.

The blackness below me swallowed us up.

* * *

"Are we still alive…" came a voice. My head was spinning with a splitting head ache as I opened up my eyes. My face was buried into the chest of a black warrior. Sitting up, I inspected the body. He still had a good amount of health points left. The surroundings were completely out of focus as I rubbed my temples. But my throat was able to murmur a response. "Yeah…it looks like it." relief began creeping into my voice. How the hell did I survive the dragon's attack and the fall?

The body below me groaned and sat up. His eyes met mine and with a sight of relief his expression softened. Amidst my confusion and headache I could still feel my cheeks flush up. Few people had looked at me like that before, least of all a guy…who…looked…handsome. Just as my mind was about to lurch into a myriad of over thinking, he extended a little glass bottle to me. It held a red liquid inside of it.

"Drink one of these just in case." It was a health potion. A substitute for a healing crystal. Unlike teleport crystals, healing crystals were incredibly expensive, and seeing that there were no immediate threats, I could see why he was offering me a potion.

Sitting silently the bitter-sweet liquid ran down my throat. It was then that I worked up enough courage to use my voice. "Thank you, you know for saving me." I whispered. Defeat hung in my voice, if I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened.

"It's a little early to be thanking anyone, we have to find a way out of here first." His voice was in complete control. He hadn't even let the grace of being alive dissuade his focus. I shook my head and looked up at him. "What? Can't we teleport out?" I took out a crystal, knowing he must have one as well. "Teleport Lindas!" I issued my command, expecting the little blue crystal to shatter in my hand. Expecting to be arriving in Lindas, with one hell of a tale to tell Ryou. But instead I looked at the crystal in horror, still completely solid in my hand. This was an Anti-Crystal Zone! My heart nearly stopped for the tenth time in the day.

Kirito's voice interrupted my rapidly fearful thoughts. "Well, if we can't teleport out, that means there should be another way out."

My mind couldn't think like that however. I was in sheer panic. Ever since Asuna and I had heard the info broker in Mishe, I had been terrified of ending up in such a zone. I had mapped out every single route before, how could I have been so careless? My voice quivered as I voiced my fears: "How can you be so sure there is? I mean maybe this is some kind of trap to kill anyone who falls into it!" fear was woven into every word of my voice, and Kirito didn't even seem to notice.

"Good point, maybe it is…"

Fear, concern, and annoyance took hold of my voice. "Would it kill you to at least try to cheer me up?" I quivered as I sat on the ground. Did this guy just face so death so regularly that he accepted it as his fate?

"I think I have an idea…" came his smooth voice. Instantly a wave of hope and renewal washed over me. I stood up and felt my hands warm up, maybe there was some mechanic I hadn't discovered, or some method that he would teach me. "Really?" my voice spilled out of drenched in hope and joy.

"We could try running up the wall." Just like that the hope faded.

"… You're insane …" I audibly let out, half disappointed and half in shock. Run up the wall was his big idea? I couldn't believe this was his way out. But regardless if he had seen my reaction, he didn't seem to care. All he did was just back up towards one end of the pit we had fallen while getting into position to face the endlessly imposing wall.

"Maybe, but that's all I got for ideas right now." He started running and then launched himself upwards in the greatest display of physical strength I had ever seen. I stared dumbfounded yet again as the sound of his boots grew distant. "No Way…" I exclaimed as he made it nearly halfway up the pit's wall. But then his boots slipped, and he lost all his grip on the wall. His body became a growing spec as his yell became ever louder. Half-amused, a throbbing headache on my mind, I watched as he slammed into the ground. His HP dropped only a little bit which then made me realize just how much of my fall he had absorbed when we fell.

In only the fashion that a confident guy could wield, he uttered: "If I had more of a running start, I probably would have made it."

I squatted next to his body, next to the person shaped hole he had made in the snow. Despite feeling relieved that he was trying, I had to give it to him straight: "Yeah, I don't think so." My face was concerned but also amused. I could scarcely believe this guy had tried to run up a wall.

* * *

"This is kind of weird isn't it?" My voice perked up. I stared up towards the sky. It was just a circle of sky, the walls of the pit forming a dark perimeter around it. A small fire crackled next to my ear. After Kirito's mad dash up the wall, we decided to conserve our energy for a night and try to escape the following morning. So we had set up our sleeping bags and split some fruits to quell our hunger stats.

"This wouldn't happen in real life. You know going to strange places, meeting a total stranger, and then sleeping next to them…I mean you actually tried running up that wall, you know you really are a weirdo you know that?" Despite my thankfulness in him I couldn't help but let little bit of playful teasing sneak in…after all…I was beginning to doubt if we would ever get out. Being a dungeon and an Anti-Crystal zone, there was no way to even communicate with another player. I was pretty sure Ryou, Zaki and Gaya were fearing the worst by now. Never mind Asuna, I had promised to meet her for dinner after all.

"Well excuse me." Replied Kirito's voice, clearly not too amused. I brushed off his remark as I sat up for a moment. I still couldn't believe that he had saved me. I don't think I would have done the same, and so…I tried to put together the right words.

"Kirito, can I ask you something?" my voice quivered.

"Ask away, I'm all ears."

"Why did you risk your life like that to save me?" I asked. I waited with bated breath, trying to not let my emotions show. As the hours had ticked by, I had fallen into an emotional disarray. He had seriously thrown his life into chance just for me. For my mistake! How could I feel anything but in debt to him? But at the same time, I didn't understand why he did it. It wasn't just a game…when he jumped he was seriously throwing his life into chance for another person. I had to know why he did it.

There was a moment of quiet as he steadied himself, "I can't just sit back and watch someone die. I'd rather die along side them, than do nothing," his eyes were glassy as he answered me. For the briefest of moments I caught a glimpse of something dark that seemed to weigh down on him, "especially if that someone is a girl like you Liz." He smiled as he looked over. His eyes were full of heart. I wasn't sure I could read exactly what he was trying to say with that added comment, but my chest grew warm with delight.

"Wow you really are an idiot, you're the only person who'd think like that." A year…a long year of living in this game, and I had never met someone who looked my age tell me something like that. This guy, this Kirito, really was something else, I didn't even want to question what he meant by that. Instead I flashed him a meek smile as my cheeks became warm yet again. I didn't care. For all I knew, I'd spend the rest of the game here if I didn't die first.

As the sky grew darker and our little fire started to die down, I turned my head to look at Kirito. He was the reason I was alive right now. He was the one who angered me enough to abandon reason and risk my own life out here. Sure he had his moments of annoyances, but he was also unlike anyone else I'd met. He didn't think about just himself. In that way he reminded me of Asuna, Ryou, and others. But Kirito took it a step further. He had put his life on the line for me…and he barely knew me.

"Hey … hold my hand…" I heard my voice speak up on its own. I scarcely believed I had been so bold to speak my own emotions, but as far as I was concerned, it didn't matter.

He let out a slight gasp before turning towards me and stretching out his hand. We looked at each other for several minutes before I broke the silence.

"It's so warm…even though you and me are just these ones and zeros in a virtual world." I could feel my eyes watering. Why was it that things like this had to happen when so much was on the line? Why did I have to be trapped here against my will? Why couldn't I enjoy this moment for what it was?…well assuming Kirito was feeling the same way I was…

"I know." His reply caught me off guard, but I nodded solemnly…staring into his eyes…and then feeling a sweet exhaustion come over me. I didn't even remember falling asleep.

* * *

The cold of the morning ruffled me awake and I sat up trying to get my bearings. Beside me was an empty bag and a burned-out fire. I tried to think of who was with me…my usual morning grogginess not helping at all. I then heard the crunching of snow and looked over. I saw Kirito digging at the snow in the pit. Almost immediately the rush of the previous night's activities rushed back to the forefront of my mind. Getting saved, laying down our bags in the snow…and…holding his hand. My face instantly felt red hot with embarrassment. I couldn't believe I had fallen asleep with him like that! I had to get my head in the game! Slapping my cheeks with my cold gloves to wake myself up, I looked over at Kirito.

"Whatcha doing?" I timidly asked.

"Here look." He held up a metal ore. It was crystalline but with a dark greenish blue color to it rather than the shiny metallic looks of the crystals on the surface. The cogs in my mind started to turn and I realized what it was. "Is this…what I think it is?" I asked cautiously asked. His smile cheered me up as he handed me the ore. "Uh-huh it's that special metal we came all this way for. Like you said, the dragon eats crystals and they turn into this in its stomach." He let out a melodious laugh as he sat back into the snow. "No wonder it's hard to find."

I couldn't tell why he was laughing, my mind still struggling to comprehend just how I had woken up in a situation like this, but I pressed him for answers. "Yeah, but you found it. What's it doing down here though…"

"This hole isn't a trap like we thought, it's the dragon's nest." He answered rather nonchalantly as he gazed upwards towards the pit's opening.

"Really?!" My mind was now trying to think of things we could use to escape. How did one even escape a dragon's nest? I had no idea. But before I could start suggesting things with this new-found knowledge Kirito laid a disgusting truth at my feet: "Uh-huh…and that's not just an ingot, that's dragon excrement. You know? Poop." I looked at the crystal in my hands. It didn't register in mind for several seconds what exactly it was that I held in my hands. Then finally somehow poop and the crystal clicked together. Even if it was a virtual world, this was just disgusting. I flailed wildly and threw the ingot at him. "Why did you tell me that! Are you saying I have to forge dragon poop now?!"

In true Kirito fashion he turned away from me and looked up at the pit's entrance. He didn't even convey that he heard me, but instead he wore a slight smirk on his face. I could tell he was enjoying watching me freak out. He seemed to take pleasure in annoying me slightly, and I couldn't help but feel some level of joy knowing that I made him smile.

But just as quick as the smile came, it was replaced with a hard-steeled expression. "Well, I guess this means we got what we came here for. Still stuck though."

"Wait, this is supposed to be a dragon's nest right?" I offered, making sure I had heard him right the first time. "Yep." Came the quick response. "Cause dragons are nocturnal…so it won't be long before it…comes…" My mind was finally working, and I didn't know whether to feel scared or relieved that we might get a chance to see the dragon again. Perhaps we would get a chance to kill it and find a way out, but before I even had time to properly react, a loud screech bellowed from the sky. My instincts didn't even engage. I just shrieked "IT'S HERE!"

Almost immediately I felt a strong set of arms pick me up. "What are you doing?!" I managed to yell. The response was Kirito's loud confident voice: "Hang onto me Liz!"

My stomach lurched upwards into the air and I could see the pit wall start to shrink underneath me. Then the dragon's icy body landed on the pit's floor and then we started falling. I kept screaming in sheer panic and horror. What was he doing? Why were we falling towards the dragon! It was only then I noticed that Kirito had me strung up on his back. As we fell he pulled out his Elucidator long sword and readied it to pierce the dragon's thick hide. I only screamed in horror at what he was going to do.

Our bodies slammed into the back of the dragon and I felt my whole world lurch upwards. The dragon's wail of pain was followed by my body being tossed upwards. The dragon soared out of its nest with a fury I never experienced before. The only comfort I had were Kirito's strong arms clutching me ever tighter to his body. Despite the cold air blasting past me, despite my almost reflexive desire to keep screaming, I felt his arm soothing my worries.

As if a switch had been struck, the rush of air ceased, and I heard the dragon's wails grow fainter. It was only then that I felt Kirito's grip weaken on me. I cautiously opened my eyes, terrified of the possibility that he might be dead. But then I was greeted to the most incredible sight I ever saw in Aincrad. The sun was rising above the mountain range and I stared in awe as our bodies flew upwards through the clouds. Only then did I realize what had happened. Glancing quickly downwards I could see the dragon, wounded and falling back towards its pit. Kirito had stabbed it and pulled me along with him. We had been shot into the sky before we had separated from the dragon. Now we soared through the sky, free to use our teleport crystals now. We were safe. I couldn't believe it!

The sun's radiance, broke through the morning clouds. "Wow… Look at that!" I pointed outwards to the sky. Kirito smiled as we fell through the air. We probably had a few minutes before we were in any real danger and so I felt completely at ease taking in the view.

"Kirito, you know what?" I yelled, trying to speak over the rushing wind. My heart was now pounding in my chest as I looked over to the dark knight that had saved me not once, but twice.

"No What?" He yelled back with a smile. I could tell he was enjoying the view as much as me. I couldn't believe all that had happened and all that was happening now, skydiving with a beautiful sunrise after fighting a dragon and collecting its poop. What a story.

"Don't freak out, but I think I'm falling in love with you!" I yelled back at him, the grin on my face was wild with joy but then I heard his response and felt a wave of relief: "I can't hear a thing, what did you just say?" He didn't look surprised or anything, just the sound of wind genuinely meant he didn't hear me. "Nevermind." I yelled back as I flung myself towards him with a giggle in my voice. Something like that shouldn't be just thrown around without an explanation. I was glad he didn't hear me. I needed time to actually tell him how he changed me.

* * *

Lindas was warm, warmer than all of Floor 55. But it felt excruciatingly warmer now that I wasn't alone. My forge's fire burned brightly as I prepped a metal within it. Carefully I pulled out the ingot from its fierce warmth and set it down on my anvil. The last time I had felt this anxious over the forging of a sword had been nearly an exact year ago, that day that I crafted Asuna's rapier. Today … I felt I would be crafting a much more important sword, one that I wanted to make great, not just for my own pride, but for who I was crafting it for.

I steadied myself and breathed out as I readied my hammer. A quick glance at my notifications showed nearly fifty messages, presumably from Ryou and the others. They were probably all terrified about where I had disappeared to last night, but for the first time since I had met them, their concerns had to wait. … I had a more important task to focus on.

"A one-handed long sword right?" I asked out of politeness, knowing I had spent the whole time prepping the ingot rehearsing various legendary sword combinations. I knew what he wanted, and I was going to give it to him.

"Yep. Make it awesome." He said tenderly. I smiled internally, already knowing this was going to be the best sword I've ever made.

I pulled back my hammer and struck a delightful note. Sharp rings sounded in the forge of my shop. Every single note crafting a perfect melody. The metal ingot's stats only helped me further, much like Asuna's rare ore, this one too was guiding me, telling me what it wanted to be like, and I obliged it. Forcing an artistic pattern into the blade, masking the ore's weaker stats while strengthening its powerful statistics with my hammer. Crafting, tuning, shaping. Though my movements may have seemed somewhat identical to an observer like Kirito, I was actually altering each strike minutely; varying the frequency and speed, as well as intensity, of each strike. I could see the blade's final shape taking form. The crystal ore was so rare, and the methods I was employing were so high level, that even I was astounded the form this blade was taking. I was now on my own, I had left all the known forging tricks behind me long ago, and now I was shaping the blade on instinct, gut, and sheer luck.

I felt sweat dribble down my back as I finished. I had lost track of time, my entire focus had been on this one blade, and now I was going to witness the fruits of my labor.

The metal contorted, it shone brightly, and the ingot transformed into a brilliant blade. Its green blue color was translucent, and it seemed to offer a faint glow against the light of my forge. I could see my pink eyes in its reflection and I knew then I had the courage to tell him. Tell Kirito how much he meant to me. He meant love, he meant affection that Ryou, Zaki and Gaya couldn't give me, he meant friendship Asuna couldn't offer. He meant so much in a world of death and risk, he had to know what I felt.

"The sword is called Dark Repulsor, one of a kind, and its not even in the info brokers' directory. Go on, try it." I offered as he got up from the seat in my shop. He looked at me curiously as he grabbed the handle, almost as if I seemed more interesting to him than the actual sword. It took him a second for his eyes to break from mine before he stood in front of me, holding and balancing the blade. He shifted its position in his hand and swung the sword. Little crackles of greenish blue energy flew from its tip, and I could tell its power was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"Good? Bad?" my voice was barely a whisper. Despite all the effort I put into it, this forging felt different from other swords. Usually, I could tell a customer off if I feel they didn't appreciate my weapons; I mean, they often didn't know what a good sword was anyway. But this was different. This was Kirito. It didn't matter what I thought, all that mattered was what he thought of the blade.

His posture shifted yet again, and he held the sword down towards the ground. He smiled. "Its real heavy, it's a good sword." He looked at me with a set of fierce eyes. He was truly impressed, I could easily tell he was astounded with the blade's power.

"Yay!" my voice squealed in delight as I felt a rush of joy sweep through me. This felt so different from Asuna's blade, I couldn't describe the joy I felt, I only knew my whole body felt warm, from head to toe.

"It feels like you forged your soul into it." He added on, and I only felt my face heat up even more. I had made him risk his life for me. It was the least I could do. I felt jubilant, elated, giddy. But the moment didn't last in my mind as he asked a follow up: "Ok you held up your end of the deal, its time for me to pay up, so how much?"

I looked down at the floor as I stood before him, I held my hands together, trying to come up with a response. The elation had robbed me of my little script, of what I wanted to say to him. I wanted to convey to him all that I felt, and yet…I was at a loss for words.

"Um…well…I don't really need any money…" I started, knowing from his sudden shift in posture that I had caught him off guard, "Instead, I'd like to be your exclusive blacksmith from now on." He looked at me with his calculating eyes, trying to read my mind, and failing miserably. "What do you mean exclusive? What's wrong?" he tried to ask, probably wondering if I felt jealous such a sword would be serviced by someone else. But the concern in his voice was misplaced. He didn't really know what I was asking, and frankly I was doing a crap job trying to get my meaning across.

"I mean any time you get back from the field, stop by, and let me do maintenance on your gear," I added on, trying to hide the rising tide of emotion, "every day, from now till the end…" my cheeks felt burning. I didn't even care to hide my emotions now. I was staring right into his eyes, I could feel I was making him uncomfortable but not in an awkward way. "Liz I…" he fumbled around for words, his cheeks also started brightening up. He stuttered for an answer before I cut him off.

"Kirito, I just…I…" I wanted to just tell him to shut up, to just hug me and let me hug him, to look into my eyes and tell me he would be there for me just like I wanted to be there for him, to jus-

 _ **"LIZ I WAS SO WORRIED."**_

A familiar voice yanked me from everything I was going to say. Yanked me from my thoughts and emotions, and left me jarred from the quiet moment I wanted to have with Kirito. Looking up in a dazed confusion at the door of my forge, a warm body launched itself at me. Her arms and hands wrapped themselves around pulling me into a tight embrace.

"Asuna?" I croaked, feeling so out of place and somewhat angry, why did she have to interrupt my moment, couldn't she knock? What was so important that she had to interrupt me!

"Liz where were you last night? I tried messaging you, but you didn't answer, and I couldn't track you on the map." words were spilling out of her so quickly. She was on the verge of tears, and then I understood. I understood what was going on…here I was caught up in a moment of love and emotional heartache, and she was wondering if I was still alive. I had completely missed our dinner last night and I had offered no explanation. Guilt started to creep up into me. Ryou, probably was equally worried, worried his adoptive daughter was dead and that he hadn't been there to save her. I patted Asuna's back, knowing now that I had to get back to the others as well. Selfish and self-centered…maybe that's what I was.

"…Eh…sorry…I kinda got stuck in a dungeon." I spoke into my friend's ear, trying to ease her worries and offer some relief, but instead it only made matters worse. Shock was written all over her face as she pulled away from me, looking right into my eyes with fear. "A dungeon?! You went all by yourself?" concern was dripped from every word, and she sounded more like a mother than a friend.

Ok, time to fix this, I shook my head, "Uh-uh…I went with him." I pointed at the black clothed figure before me. He was rubbing the back of his head, a light blush still strewn across his cheeks. Clearly he didn't want to be here, but he also wasn't trying to leave in a hurry.

"Kirito?!" Asuna's voice shrieked out. My mind froze suddenly. Wait, how did she know him? How did my friend know this guy? What wasn't she telling me? How does she suddenly know more about my own life than I do? Was there nothing I knew that she didn't?

"H-Hey Asuna, long time no see? Its been what, like two days?" Kirito's blush disappeared almost instantly, as if he was relieved Asuna was here. Asuna was my friend! Not his? Fear crept into my mind. My breaths were starting to tighten up as I looked at the two of them. Two days since they had last seen each other?! What the hell did that mean? Are they friends or more than that? I could barely process everything my mind was feeling.

"Well this is a surprise, I didn't know you wanted to check this place out, I wish you would have told me, I could have come with you." Asuna spoke with merry content to Kirito. As if the two had known each other for the longest time. He looked at her with a friendly expression, not bothered, not irritated…almost comfortable. My entire chest was screaming for it stop. I couldn't watch the two of them like this, was I jealous? What right did I have to be selfish? But logic wasn't what my brain was running on. I had just had my hopes lifted, I had just been through a life-risking adventure with Kirito, I almost said to him that I loved him and now here he was being taken from me by my own best friend?! I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know, even if it killed me.

My voice was barely a whisper as I asked. My hand squeezing tightly against itself, fearful at the answer, "I'm sorta confused, you know each other?"

"Yeah, both of us are on the Assault team…so…" came Kirito's warm voice, smiling as he said it. He had no idea how my chest was icing up. Then Asuna added her bit: "He said he was looking to get a more powerful sword, so I told him about you and your shop." Of course she would have. She was always looking out for me, looking to help my business. This is the one time I wish she hadn't, I wish she had just stayed away from me!

"Oh." It was the only word I could utter with the torrent of emotion I was facing; this whirlpool of heartache, jealousy, hatred, and despair that was tearing at my heart.

"Why is she acting like that? I swear, if you did anything weird to her…" _'Oh Asuna, y_ _ou have no idea what he did to me.'_ Her compassion and attempt to protect me was only shoving a dagger deep into my chest. "I-I-didn't do anything!" was Kirito's adorable response, and yet he had no idea what he had changed in me, what he was making me feel. "Why'd you stutter just now huh?" Asuna countered, bickering with Kirito as if they were a married couple, "You know? You could show a little more compassion, I almost got killed….." "Like that's my fault! Don't I always tell you to not fight solo?"

…Right…I get it now…

I never stood a chance did I? She was my best friend, but she was also a far more attractive option for Kirito than me. Asuna was strong, she was brave and fierce, and far more beautiful. How could I even compare? I was just a lowly blacksmith, cowering in my little shop waiting for hell to blow over. How could I even think I could get the attention of a high tier player like Kirito?

"If this guy said anything rude, you'd tell me right?" Asuna turned to me with a sweet joy in her eyes, maybe she was happy to see me alive, after all, I could tell her concern was genuine, or maybe she was trying to protect me as a friend, but either way I couldn't stand her. Not now anyway, I was fighting desperately for control of my eyes, my voice, trying not break down sobbing, and she was just digging that dagger deeper into my chest.

"… Liz?"

She was prompting me, trying to get through to me. I put up every defense I had, every tool I had in my bag of life skills to avoid becoming a crying mess on the floor.

"You wanna talk about rude, try this…" I gleefully stated, my outside _completely_ opposite of my inside. "First thing he does when he comes in is shatter my best sword." Ironic wasn't it? That my best way to fake the inner turmoil inside of me, was to act like my cheerful self. Was that really who that person was? A mask for who I really was? A terrified little girl in a game of life and death?

"Whaaat?! I'm Sorry." Asuna put her hands together and bowed in front of me, every action she took was truly genuine, which only drove me closer to breaking down.

"Oh come on, you don't have to apologize for anything," my voice spilled out, completely on auto pilot. I had to get out of here, I wasn't going to last much longer in this shop. I looked towards the exit and began to move towards it, not even daring to look at Kirito. If I did, I knew I wasn't going to make it out with my dignity.

"Liz?" came Asuna's concerned voice. ' _Would this girl not shut up?_ ' Couldn't she tell how desperately I needed to leave? I just hated her in this moment, I regretted everything about her. The sword, her friendship, the freaking clothes I was wearing, all because of her, and she took the one guy I had ever met that stole my heart away! I hurriedly shot back an answer, desperate to get her off my back: "Sorry I have to go pick up some supplies. I'll be right back."

I blasted past the corkboard on my wall, seeing the picture of Gaya, me, Zaki and Ryou. They were the only ones that mattered to me and they had never hurt me. After I put myself back together, I'd go to them, they would know what to say.

"But, you're going to leave the store?" _'YES ASUNA! I'M GOING TO LEAVE! I'M ABOUT TO CRY!'_ I yelled in my mind, knowing I was cutting it way too close, my eyes watering already as any hope of me and Kirito together was growing more and more distant with each passing second.

"Hold down the fort for me. Later!" I called out, my cheerful voice thankfully not betraying my emotion. I didn't even bother to hear the response, I just opened the door and ran out. The tears started streaming down my cheeks before I even made it out of the shop. I faintly heard Asuna call out for me again, but I didn't care, I didn't care about anything. Having lost control of my face, every part of me was about to go into an emotional frenzy. I raced out of the shop and ran down a dirt path, running away from the town and towards its outer walls. I knew where my body was taking me, a little bridge that no one ever seemed to be around, a little private area where I could quell this embarrassing mix of emotions.

My knees gave out as the little bridge came into view, I collapsed in the grassy pasture and let out several tears and wails. I was seriously losing any shred of control. Another sob escaped my lips before I picked myself back up and finished running towards the little bridge; I finally found comfort when I pulled myself into a ball and leaned against the underside of the bridge. I had found my solace. My chest heaved out sob after sob. All I could do was just let it all out. I got a few messages from someone, but I ignored the notifications. I just let myself loose. My rasps sounded utterly disgusting, I was a mess of feelings. Just empty, stupid, and an embarrassment.

Time passed, and my sobs grew quieter; slowly I began stitching my heart together.

It was only natural. I was sixteen. A teenager. I fell for the typical fairytale story; a princess being rescued by a knight in shining armor. Except in the real world, girls like me were rarely saved literally by a knight in armor, instead we had our hearts broken in class or at some stupid dance. But here I was feeling truly sad because a guy had actually risked himself for me, told me that he did it especially because I was me, and lo and behold, my best friend knew him better than I ever could have. They were out on the front lines, day after day, fighting to end this nightmare, protecting each other. Here I was, thinking I had a chance with this knight, only to find out he was a hero with his queen. What an idiot.

I let out another sigh and more tears fell from my face.

Should I even feel like this? This emotional? I mean it's not like other girls didn't have their hearts broken, why did I have to be this mess? Why did I have to sob like some insane maniac?

A set of footsteps approached me, and I tried to steel myself, make my incessant tears and crying invisible to this passerby. But I had no such luck, for the footsteps stopped just behind me.

"Lisbeth…"

His voice brought me calm despite knowing he was untouchable. I put my voice back together and stood up, knowing I had to face him at some point. I was blunt with him, I didn't need to hide anymore: "I almost got away with it…a couple more minutes and I would have gone back to my usual cheerful self." I rubbed at my eye with my wrist, knowing my face was likely a red tomato with streaks of dried tears all over it. Kirito's face was one of concern however, he looked at me with warm eyes but also uncertainty. Uncertainty about how to process me perhaps, how to deal with a girl crying over something he couldn't understand. "Liz…I…" was the feeble attempt at trying to comfort me. I didn't want him to, I didn't think I could take that.

"How'd you know I was here…" I choked out as I looked at him, his build was narrow but I could still see his shoulders jutting out somewhat. Oh how I had disregarded him entirely at first. Now everything about Kirito screamed power and intimidation, just in the subtlest of ways. He knew how to play mind games, and I was just another victim.

In the most nonchalant manner he could manage he pointed his finger up at the city's central tower. "I scanned the whole town for you from up there." He said with a smile. I managed a slight chuckle, which surprised myself, "Figures you'd do something crazy like that…" I spoke out, knowing I was on the verge of tears again. "Sorry if I worried you, I'm fine now, must be all the excitement, I'm not used to having adventures…" I was covering up again, I couldn't truly be straight with him, I didn't deserve that privilege, "Anyway…Oh just forget everything I said ok?" A fresh set of tears was now welling up within me, I didn't know any more if I hated Asuna or myself more for crying so much.

"Liz...I…I just wanted thank you. See, I…I dunno, I always thought dying was better than surviving day after day, living with the guilt…" Thank me? I turned to look at him, my chest not knowing how to react, and frankly I didn't care how it wanted to react, I had just about had it with this emotional roller coaster. I verbally called out to him, trying to apologize for whatever guilt he had on his mind, "Kirito…" it was me who had jumped out of cover, not him, he didn't have to apologize for me risking my neck, that was my fault!

"But then we got stuck in that hole, and I was really happy we were still alive, I realized that even here our lives are real and have meaning, thank you helping me see that Liz, I guess it's what I've been looking for this whole time." He was smiling at me. Maybe Asuna had read what I had felt and told him to try and comfort me. I managed a weak smile as I tried to both tell him what thought while disguising my own feelings. "Yeah…me too…I know what you mean, I was also looking for something, something real, hoping I'd find it…the warmth of your hand…for me…that was real…"

New tears were starting to spill out of me. "Do me a favor and tell Asuna what you told me…" my voice trailed off as a fresh little sob took control of my throat.

"Liz…" Kirito was stubborn, trying to get me to stop crying, but I couldn't really stop myself, "Promise me you'll put an end to this world, till then I'll keep doing what I do best…" I wanted to hear him say that he'd get me out. Feel for one last moment like I was all that mattered to him…

Instead of a simple reply however, I felt a warm hand turn me around, turning me to face his chest. I found myself wrapped in his embrace, the whole world of Aincrad fading out of my mind. I struggled to move my hands as I felt his warmth seep into my body. I didn't want this moment to end, and to make it all more delicious I felt his chin rest atop my head. "I promise I will, I swear I'll beat the game." his voice all the while vibrating into me.

"If you ever need your weapons or gear repaired, my door is always open." I muttered as a reply, trying to make it clear I respected Asuna. But he probably knew what I was feeling anyway.

"Sure." Was his short reply. I expected him to end the embrace right there. To just start to walk away with a cheerful goodbye on his lips. Instead he held me.

He kept holding me and eventually my own arms wrapped around his torso. It was bliss and I was scared to let it end. I had no idea how I would react when he pulled away. His next few words caught me entirely unprepared.

"You know, Asuna's timing sucks." He breathed into me as held me tight. "I didn't think I was ready to say it back there in your shop, but I am now," my heart froze again. Hope, being the incredibly powerful drug and tool in my chest, decided to play a million different fantasies in my mind. "I really enjoyed our little adventure Liz, I'd like to go on more with you." I looked up from his chest and into his eyes, looking for deception or waiting for a caveat, instead I found two dark orbs staring at me with a slight smile on his lips. I tried to formulate words, but they didn't come. I only looked at him incredulously until I blurted out my gut's worry, "But what about Asuna?" my voice quivering with fear. His eyes widened a bit and I closed my eyes and hugged his chest, scared to hear him confirm my fears.

"What about her? We're on the Assault team together, but she's got her guild to run, I know you two are friends and all, but we can't bring her along." I doubted my ears and despite my better judgement, I pressed on, "But won't she…mind…you…going out with me?" I couldn't have phrased that any worse if I had tried.

He pulled away from me and stared at me with a mix of incredulousness and curiosity. "She and I met at the first boss fight, but she's just a friend of mine." His mind was churning behind his dark eyes and I felt my entire chest get thrown into an emotional rut again, did he really just say what I thought he said? I couldn't bring myself to ask again, I wanted to ride on this hope forever.

Just as I was starting to churn questions in my mind, Kirito put his arm around me and started to move me towards the road; I melted into his embrace.

"Come on now, there's a trio of guys waiting for you at your shop," he wore a teasing smile, "it'd be rude to keep them waiting Lisss-beth." I wanted to punch him and kiss him simultaneously. Instead I managed to change the subject, knowing all too well it was probably Ryou, Zaki, and Gaya getting ready to demand an explanation. "So…when can we go on another adventure?" my voice was filled with hope and trepidation, careful to not read too much into his words, but also overjoyed at learning more about his life.

"Well I gotta hunt a bit with the Assault team, but I should be free later this week, does that work?" I wanted to remind him of my earlier request, to become his personal blacksmith, but I didn't need to.

"I can bring some of my other gear when I stop by if you want," he paused before adding with a smirk, "Miss Exclusive Blacksmith."

I jabbed him playfully in his side, burying my face into his side, my voice quiet but also deeply happy, "Don't forget it now, you'll always be welcome at my shop."

* * *

 **A/N: So I basically more than doubled my word count with this chapter. This chapter took me forever to complete, real life responsibilities didn't help either. For starters, I had to go and watch the episode for nearly an hour to actually transcribe all the dialogue. As you can tell I am trying to stick to canon, but here is where it will start to diverge. Don't expect chapters this long ever again. I had seriously contemplated splitting this chapter into several parts, but seeing as everyone knows what happens in this chapter, I wanted to really get done in one go. Again, other chapters have had several typos fixed and things rephrased. Don't worry, nothing major, you might even struggle to pick up on all the changes, but I promise you, I am striving for quality. I will be rewriting some chapters, namely number 2, as I get better at varying my sentence structure.**

 **As always Read and Review!**


	6. Ore Hunting!

**A/N: If you haven't checked out the re-written Chapter 2, go ahead! Not much changed story wise, but I certainly brought it up to the standards of the recent chapters!**

* * *

"Hello, Hello! What can I do for you today Lisbeth?" the booming voice from across the counter welcomed my vagrant expression into the little store. Tucked away between two much larger buildings, this little place held some of Aincrad's best deals and rare items. People often said its owner drove hard bargains, but in doing so, he also provided tons of rare items to many other players. He really did try to help all players, just like my blacksmithing guild. Recently, the owner had begun talk about moving floors once the rumored city on floor 67 was unlocked. But for time being he would keep calling Mishe home, still the largest hub of players outside of the town new beginnings on floor 1.

With the advent of February in the world of Aincrad, I found myself back to toiling with non-artisan weapons, instead crafting high level weapons from basic metals, common ores, and the occasional rarer ones. If anything truly special came up, I'd just hand off such an order to Zaki. It was after all, his month to craft the truly magnificent artisan blades.

"Oh you know Agil, just trying find some light Titanium Ore, how much do you have in stock?" The muscular lighthouse behind the counter stared me down for a few moments before pulling up an inventory. "Well I've bought up a number of ores recently, but I don't have any Titanium in stock, could you get by with some rare irons?"

Pouting at the news, I glanced at my own notes. An order had come in from a lone player. They wanted some of the best light fast attack blades possible. Iron's density didn't allow for it to be crafted into such a type of blade. What's more, the lone player wanted nearly fifty of the said sword-type. Ryou had been weary of the large order at first, but he just couldn't turn down the pretty penny the player was offering; nearly three times what a fast ambush blade went for. The guy was clearly an idiot, but he had insisted so much on buying the swords for such a price that we finally accepted. The lone player was stubborn, _'…just like Kirito…'_

"Unfortunately I can't. I need a light strong metal like Titanium. I can't craft the blades for my order otherwise." I blew out my breath in frustration. It didn't help that this order was now completely up to me, my punishment for going rogue for a few days. _'Guess I have to go out and hunt the ore down myself.'_

"Thanks for the offer Agil, I'll go look for it on my own…" The door of the little shop was just within reach when I felt a strong hand pull me back in.

"Hey now, you be careful ok? I don't want to have your folks turning up to my door with tears in their eyes again ok?" Agil's hard, yet tender, eyes bore into mine as he squeezed my shoulder. "You make sure you go out with at least Zaki, you hear me? I taught him how to axe wield myself." He paused for a moment, gauging my look of surprise, "By the way how are your folks doing since you decided to join us again after that little adventure of yours?"

Wincing at the reminder of the recent debacle I put my family through, I vainly worked up an answer: "They're fine…I mean…about as fine as can be." Yeesh, remembering their outrage was more awkward than having to face Kirito after bawling next to a bridge. Guilt crept through my chest as I remembered, remembered the … less than ideal … reunion …

* * *

 _Two strong arms squeezed me tight before almost instantly pulling away. "LISBETH! I'm so glad you're alive! BUT WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" My knees buckled as I stared down the older man, his eyes red with sadness as his mouth twisted into a scowl. "Two days! TWO WHOLE DAYS!" the yell only made me wince more. "You ignored all my messages, all of Gaya's and Zaki's messages! You didn't even give us the common courtesy to let us know where you'd be going!" his voice was strained with desperation, alongside a mixture of relief and agitation._

 _My mind churned, trying to think of a way out of this reprimand, but found none. How could I have been so reckless? These people had done so much for me and ... I had completely, unjustifiably, put them through an emotional hell for no reason at all. It would have only taken a message to let them know what I'd be doing, and in my anger, and subsequent recklessness, I had disrespected all their kindness and love they had shown me._

 _"What do you have to say for yourself?" exclaimed Zaki, usually the calmest of the bunch, and even he had eyes that betrayed anger, worry, and relief. Gaya stood just behind me, trying to not let the stifled sobs in his own voice break him down. Realizing how relieved these people were, how concerned they had been placed a sudden weight placed on my shoulders. How could I apologize? Apologize for being silly and stupid? For being an overconfident teenager that had nearly gotten herself killed? The dirt path before me became an utterly fascinating sight, so intoxicating was its beauty that I couldn't bring myself to look away from the dirt below me._

 _"Are you guys Lisbeth's family?" came a confused voice. I immediately knew its owner. "Adoptive family of sorts, yes, thank you sir for bringing Lisbeth back. She's not a fighter, we feared for the worst." Gaya's voice answered. Ignoring Gaya's little protective jab at my skill, I twirled around to find a black warrior standing just behind me. In dealing with Ryou's emotional outburst I had nearly forgot that Kirito walked back with me, walked all the way from the bridge with me holding onto his arm. Today had just been a whole emotional roller coaster. From waking up to Kirito digging out dragon poop, to bawling my eyes out over feeling I had no chance with him, to now this guilt-riddled reunion with the family that had given up so much for me, and that I had ignored without a second thought._

 _But if any of this seemed to bother Kirito, he didn't show it. "Well she's an incredible blacksmith, that's for sure." His voice was calm, cool, collected as he showered some praise to lighten the mood. "She's not too bad with a Mace either." I looked into his eyes as he gave me a brief wink. "You guys must be proud of her." Gaya smiled back at him before looking at me. "We sure as hell are. You have no idea how relieved we are to see her alive." Ryou interjected as he wrapped a protective arm around me, "What happened that we couldn't see Lisbeth's status on the map? Or send her messages?" Kirito chuckled and waved off the concern. "Oh it's just the mechanic for when you're stuck in a dungeon. You gotta fight your way out, and you can't really ask for support." Ryou turned to me in shock. "You went into a dungeon all by yourself Lisbeth?! You didn't even care to tell us!"_

 _I felt so helpless in that moment. I had no excuse. Nothing to justify myself, but thankfully…I didn't need one. Kirito read the situation unfolding before him perfectly. "Well, uh, sir…I don't think she thought it was necessary," he began, drawing the shocked looks of the three men, "I'm on the Assault team, and we never went to the front lines. So I was sure I could protect her." His voice was confident, even, in control. He turned to Gaya with a certain look of recognition. "Hey, were you part of the beta?" Gaya, startled by the question responded with a merely bashful look, "Well indeed I was, I guess I was one of the few people that chose back then to keep my own appearance! I take it you were in the beta too!" Kirito smiled as he extended his hand. "I sure was, not many beta players like to admit they were here before it all began, but well, don't worry, I had Lisbeth…protected." Kirito hastily tacked on the last word and I could see from his rather wordy response that he was nervous talking so much. But he was doing me a tremendous favor, giving me an excuse for not having contacted my family. Second time he was already sticking out his neck for me, in less than a week._

 _And yet, at the same time, he was letting me in on his past. I had only known of Gaya as a beta tester. Suddenly seeing Kirito as one only made me respect him more. He didn't seem to flaunt his status, his knowledge, or skill. Instead he was focused on subtlety letting his abilities known. Yet here I was kicking myself mentally for having underestimated him so dramatically. For crying out loud, the guy was so decorated! Beta tester, Assault team, Kickass knight to save me! What couldn't he do?_

 _My voice, finding its courage, chipped in, "We went kinda slow too, I didn't think we'd spend two days in there, sorry Dad." Relief, with a bit of guilt flavoring, crept into my body as Ryou processed the new information. His face was getting back its color as he began to believe that I was never in any real danger. It was the best outcome I could hope for._

 _Telling him the truth, of how I had believed I would die…falling from the sky…until Kirito threw himself after me…it would have been too much for him. Kirito, this confident black knight standing beside me, he had risked his life for my sake, and yet here I was trying to downplay his bravado, making the whole ordeal seem like a walk in the park. Sometimes a lie was indeed better than the truth. But telling such lies took a toll on my integrity._

 _"Well…if that's the case," came Ryou's somewhat calm, but still shaken, voice, "then I can see why you set out…" Zaki stole his thunder however, "But don't you ever do that again Liz! You had everyone here worried sick!" Gaya chuckled as he wiped tears from his eyes, "It got so bad none of us could sleep, I was about to message Asuna to go search for you when you appeared back on the map!"_

 _Ryou let out a half-hearted chuckle along with a sigh, "It's true…none of us got much sleep last night, did you think about us as you camped out?" My eyes watered as I thought back on the moment when I was falling, feeling no hope of surviving, "I did, I didn't know I couldn't send messages in a dungeon…I just hoped you'd all be fine when I got back…" Ryou's eyes were finally at ease, pulling me back into yet another embrace, his infections laughter spread through me. "Goodness, if we all make it back to the real world, your father won't hear the end of this." His hearty chuckle let relief course through his body. "I'll have to tell him to make sure you text home every day!" I smiled. Feeling somewhat relieved that they had stopped their questioning, and believed I had been safe all along. I just couldn't tell them the truth._

 _Zaki spoke up as he looked at Kirito, "Say if you're a beta tester, then you certainly know the mechanics of the game well, what did you come to Liz here for anyway?" Kirito, now looking tranquil, seeing as he wasn't doing any talking, responded with a simple sword draw. My green blue sword came into focus. "This. Lisbeth here put her soul into it." His lips smiled just looking at the weapon. "I usually buy all sorts of swords, but this…this might just be an endgame weapon." He looked at me with the same eyes he had when we were stuck in the pit, "Thanks a million times over Liz, I'll come back to you when it needs maintenance."_

 _My heart swelled with pride at his words. It was all too much. All I could so was let out a cheerful smile and goodbye as Ryou hugged my arm tightly. Our little dragon hunting adventure seemed to have a happy ending, but it had been a close one. One fraught with danger and emotional upheaval. I could only wonder at what a future adventure with Kirito would look like, there was no way anything would top this…_

* * *

I thought back on the reunion for a moment. "They're doing fine … really! But I kinda got grounded." Agil's face of concern turned into a mischievous smile. "Is that so?" Oh fine, I'd humor him a little bit, "Yeah…I got to make fifty swords from rare Titanium, worst punishment ever. It's going to take me forever just to collect the metal!" Agil only slapped his knee in a fit of playful teasing, "Serves you right for abandoning your family!" he laughed more as I stood there, patiently waiting to get my permission to leave.

"Alrighty then, you get on with that. I hear there's a still a few rich veins of Titanium near Ronbaru, you should go there, I'm sure they've been cleared of enemies long ago, but still. Take at least Gaya with you." I rolled my eyes as he brought up the idea of an escort again. Ever since coming back, it was becoming a running joke, that I had to be with an escort if I went out into any dangerous area. I could only guess at how protective my family would get if I went off into some uncharted area. They'd probably have a heart attack. Shaking myself from my own thoughtful mind I thanked Agil for the tip and left the shop, all too eager to just get this ordeal done.

The bright sunlight hurt my eyes for a moment. Even in a video game, this world simply felt so real. The blue sky and wonderfully white clouds were just the hallmarks of another beautiful day in world of Aincrad. Sometimes I really did forget to appreciate it and take it all in.

"So did Agil have what you wanted or are we hunting for ore?" a familiar voice spoke out to me. I looked at the black dressed figure leaning against the wall of the shop. "You know, if you would have gone in with me, you'd already know the answer…" I replied with a smirk across my face, his presence today was all that I needed. "Nah, I'd rather not get bored hearing you two talk about metals."

A quick punch to his arm dissuaded any further jokes. "Hey now, you could learn some of this stuff, you might even find some good metals for me out there on the front lines." Letting my voice tease him I looked up into the two black orbs on Kirito's face. Just like he had said, he came back towards the end of the week to join me on another adventure. While he had sent me messages about different floors we could explore and some interesting quests, I felt I was letting him down with today's ore hunting quest. But Kirito hadn't complained, and in fact he seemed almost relieved. An easy day for him with some friendly company must have certainly been a welcome change of pace.

As we walked through the alleys of Mishe, I couldn't help but feel a feeling of elation sweep over me. Sure I had led Zaki through these same streets excitedly to show him a new anvil, and Asuna and I had ogled at ever single clothing store in the city, but I had never walked around these streets with someone like Kirito. He laughed at my jokes and little whines about my little guild and customers; he listened when I talked about some of the ore collecting mechanics, and he gave me attention that I felt no one had ever given me before. It was incredible, for all the stealthy black he wore, his eyes were a real ray of sunshine.

"So, we want to follow the little traces of metal on the ceiling…right?" "Exactly!" my pink orbs beamed at him with pride as we stepped off of the teleport gate. From the warm sun of Mishe, to the coolness of Ronbaru, transportation between floors happened in an instant. The first few jumps back in the game's beginning were jarring and disorienting at times. Often a weird feeling of vertigo persisted, but routine jumps had put a swift end to that.

Unlike Mishe, where a light jacket kept me warm under the sun, Ronbaru, shrouded in its constant darkness was a much colder place. Like the rest of Floor 27, one could feel the February cold in their chest. After equipping a heavier jacket, that obviously went with my usual outfit, I started walking towards the mountains when I felt an arm wrap around shoulder.

"Glad you brought a jacket this time, I didn't really want to share my jacket again." Really? Bringing that up again? Low hanging fruit. "Whatever happened to Mister 'you don't feel cold if you're disciplined' huh?" Kirito blinked for a moment, registering when he had said that comment, before retorting, "Yeah well…I just wanted to get that crystal, I didn't want to waste time." I giggled, "Uh huh...Suuuurrreee…" He could try and be all defensive about it, but I knew what he was trying to pull, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him guilt me about it.

The walk to the mountain was easy. Leaving the city behind us, we journeyed up the trails that slowly gave way to a dim forest. In the cold chill of February, we trekked onward. Our feet crunching the snow beneath us as our breaths wisped out of our mouths. It still felt surreal to be walking with Kirito. He stood like a bulwark against anything I could face.

Genuine safety, unyielding protection.

Even though he had caught me crying, broken by the bridge; even though he had made me feel that I was now the center of his attention, my reason, my logic…told me to be patient. Either that or I didn't have the courage to bring up the topic of love. Kirito cared for me. That much was clear. He had sent me several messages all through the week and even hugged me when he stopped by the shop yesterday. But…since having to try and piece myself together after believing that Asuna was dating him…I didn't think I could handle a real rejection. Besides…wasn't this enough? Wasn't going on another adventure with him, distracting him from the front lines enough?

My arm wrapped itself around his…careful to not appear too romantic. I wanted him as a friend…as more than that. But he was on the front lines. Even in his messages over the past week, he made it clear he wouldn't be able to respond during long stretches of each day. A dungeon was a dungeon after all. What if we did become something more than close friends? We had known each other just a week anyway!

But what if…what if he set out one day…and didn't come back?

The thought wrenched more at my mind as we hiked up the snow-covered path towards the mountain. Why didn't I fear for Asuna like that? _'Well…because she has a guild.'_ Kirito…he was a solo player. I had learnt that much from Asuna's little rant at him in my shop, but it was only later that I learned that he really did fight completely on his own. No back-up within sight. If he died, probably no one would even be around to see him die. It was an atrociously sobering thought.

"Hey, is everything alright?" my eyes focused immediately on the source of the voice. Kirito had stopped on the trail, looking down at me with a bit of a confused expression. "You're kinda hurting my arm."

First a yelp of my voice, followed by an immediate release of his said appendage. "I'm sorry…" I muttered. "I got lost in thought." His eyes narrowed with a smirk. "You know you get daydreamy a lot." Any other moment I might have tried to jab back or fight off his little comment. But I only stared into his eyes, unwavering my view. What if he didn't come back one day? I didn't know anyone else like him. Alone, fighting unafraid of this game's harsh, unforgiving world. Why did he do it?

"Kirito to Lisbeth…are you there?" a black glove waved in front of my pinkish eyes.

Instinctively my cold white gloves slapped my cheeks. "Yes! Yes! I'm here…I'm just so freaking out of it." "I'd say…come on, we're nearly up to the mountain, where is this ore anyway?" The weirdness of our first journey together was still there…faintly. It wasn't nearly as awkward as trekking up an icy mountain with a guy I barely knew…but it was still weird…

I gestured up towards a tunnel entrance, "It's in there. The ore we want is in the Labyrinth, or dungeon of this floor. We just go inside, and start looking for tell tale signs of ore. I have a pretty good guess about where to go."

A few minutes more of walking in silence and we were at the mouth of the cave. "Ready?" I asked to my silent black warrior companion. A simple nod and off we were, the crunching of snow replaced by the tapping of boots on the stone floor. But soon, stone gave way to a green luminescent floor. The whole labyrinth was a series of green and blue hexagonal walls and corridors. The various halls all seemed like one another to the untrained eye of a random player, but to my blacksmith eyes, looking for tell tale signs of ores, these corridors were all different. I had spent a large amount of time down these tunnels. Ronbaru was known for its wealth of ores after all.

It didn't take me long to trace my steps to a hidden ore vein. I had found it several months ago, and refused to tell anyone. Knowing how difficult it could be to find a rare ore vein, the last thing I wanted was for someone else to take it! The silver bit of metal sparkled, contrasting with the green blue walls of the Labyrinth. "This way!" I called out as I began running down the corridor. Each step brought me closer to the ore's origin, and I was ready to just grab the metal and get out. The less time I spent digging this metal out, the more I had to spend time with Kirito doing something that was actually fun, adventurous even. The ore's trace widened even more in the ceiling until it disappeared behind a wall.

The wall stood imposing at the end of the tunnel, but there was a faint outline around its center. Realizing what this infernal death game was trying to do, I approached the wall and traced the faint outline with my gloved finger. As if on cue, there was a loud rumbling followed by a seam in the wall opening up. The green hue of the crystal wall shook as a door formed and let me peer into a square room. There was brown chest in the center along with a rich luster of silver metal ore in one corner of the room. My eyes widened with surprise and joy. _'I hit the jackpot! Yes!'_

The treasure beckoned me, begging for me to rush into the room with reckless abandon, but if there was one skill I had invested several points into, it was my trap disabling skill. I stood at the door's entry way and gazed at its perimeter. Immediately my pink orbs narrowed on a nearly invisible wire near the entry's way floor. A trip wire. My lips contorted into a sly smile. "Gotcha." I muttered with glee. As my hand reached to disable the wire a loud yell of desperation broke the stillness of the corridor.

 _"LISBETH! WAIT NO! DON'T GO IN THERE!"_

Kirito's eyes were wide with fear. Fear of something had overcome him. His panicked orbs raced towards before I stood up and motioned to him to slow down. "Whoa! Whoa! What's wrong?" I asked calmly, trying to not let his sudden agitation get to me. I thought he had been in just another corridor, walking around aimlessly. But to find him so panicked lurched my mind into overdrive. Did he see a high-level monster? Was he being followed by some player killer? What was it that had driven him this desperate? My body didn't work well under pressure, jumping in front of a dragon was proof enough of that, but right now, in this peaceful network of tunnels, I was having dread and fear creep up into every crevice of my chest. "Calm down Kirito!" I begged. My voice now strained as his black eyes, so often peaceful, stared into mine with panic dancing inside them. Usually I was the one who was a nervous wreck, not the other way around.

When he didn't respond I took his hands in mine. But…unlike in the dragon's nest, they weren't warm or full of life. Instead they felt cold and clammy. "Kirito…please what's wrong!" my voice pleaded of him. What on earth could make a warrior as powerful as him worry this much? I gestured to the wire at the base of the door. "It's just a silly trap! I saw it! What's wrong?" I looked past his armor and down the hall. Straining my ears I couldn't hear anything following him, just the breath of his panting, panicked body.

His dark orbs looked me up and down and at the wire of the door. Finally his breathing began to even a little. "Right…you saw the trap…" he let go of my hands and stumbled back a step. His eyes betrayed him however, something was going on in his mind and he wasn't telling me what. "What happened to you Kirito?" my voice questioned, to no response. I wanted to ask him what exactly was he afraid of? Did he think I was going to die from a silly trap? Or was he afraid of something else? Either way I turned back to the wire and quickly disabled it. The cold taps of my boots on the crystal floor sounded even more hollow as I walked over to him, placing the broken wire in his hands. My voice softly tried to reach out to him, "See…it was just a trip wire…don't worry…can you relax now?" He clutched the wire so strongly his hand went white from his grip on the poor string. For the first time ever, I felt at a loss of what to do, clearly something was bothering him, but I had no idea what.. I moved my arm around his and led him into the room with me. His breath sharpened as we walked in, his entire body tensing up as if ready for combat. Yet nothing happened.

Kneeling next to the chest I found the other trip wire that could still pose a threat. Making sure that Kirito was looking, my hands deftly disabled the threating mechanism and placed it in his other hand. "See? Can you please relax?" I couldn't handle his fear. There was nothing! Nothing to fear right now! Just a treasure to collect! Why on earth was he so tense! It was like I didn't even know him. Gone was the black swordsmen from the mountain, the man who had been so bold to run up a wall, the guy who had so confidently risked his life for me. In his place was this broken shadow. He was on the verge of tears, and that tugged at my heart strings. What happened to him?

"I'm going to go mine the ore ok?" I cooed to him. There wasn't much I could do. His posture barely changed but he gave me a nod in response. With a feeling of tension now infecting my chest I chipped away at the titanium ore, collecting vast amounts of the metal. It was nearly an hour of work, but eventually I had cleared about half of the stash. Setting my mining axe down, I wiped a bit of sweat from my brow. The mining had helped distract my mind from Kirito, after all, mining too was a delicate art. But instantly I found his emotional state consuming my mind when I heard a soft sob. My eyes focused on the broken man who as huddled over the unopened chest in the room. His eyes had fresh tears in them and I couldn't make out any words.

I couldn't stand it. "Would you please stop that!" I yelled at the black swordsman. Unlike what I expected however, my voice wasn't rife with anger or frustration. Instead, desperation laced my words. I could barely stand to watch him cry over something I had no way of helping with. I wanted to say something, anything to provide comfort. But he just put up a wall! A wall of steady, unrelenting, unmoving rejection. As his face turned to face mine, I saw how broken his stare was. The dark orbs looked through me as if someone else stood in my place.

In an instant however…the look disappeared. The black swordsman stood up with a cold look in his eyes. "I'm sorry…its nothing." My jaw was slack for a moment, trying to process his words. Nothing? How laughable. But with his cold empty look I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Something was bothering him, but I didn't know him well enough to pester him.

"Alright…then…lets get out of here." I cautiously offered, grabbing a few thousand col from the treasure chest, we began the walk out of the Labyrinth in silence. Kirito was distant from me, cold, and almost haunted. The tapping of our boots on the crystalline floor broke the otherwise stifling silence.

I felt an inner turmoil grip me more intensely than ever before. Helpless. That is what I was. Utterly helpless. It was uncomfortable to feel helpless and not be in combat. Facing an impossible foe at least gave one a feeling of acceptance, knowing what the adversary was. But in this case, there was nothing I could do to help my friend…my swordsman. He had to chose if he wanted to open up to me, and judging by his reclusive stance, it seemed unlikely he would do so.

Walking into the city of Ronbaru was the only thing that seemed to bring him some relief. Being away from the mountain, from that green crystal maze, seemed to be the only source of relief for his mind. His eyes softened only when the smell of bread and soup filled my nostrils, pulling me from his side and to the window of a restaurant.

"Hey…are you feeling hungry? We can get dinner if you want."

My lips smiled warily as his words filled my ears. Finally. Whatever it was, he was starting to come around. "Yes. I'm starving." I flatly stated. Excitement dampened by the relief washing over me. "Come on…I know this great place with broccoli cheese soup!" cautiously I pulled at his arm, worried about triggering some other panic in him. But he took my hand instead, letting me pull his frame around the city's streets.

His hand was warm again. Warm to my touch. Full of life once more.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey there, sorry about the shorter chapter, but honestly, expect this length in the future. Its just easier to write shorter chapters like this.**

 **Be sure to leave a review or send me a PM! I love hearing from you guys! As to the one review that pointed out the floor clearing and col inflation, all I got to say is that this is only one year in, and yet I stuck pretty closely to how the floors were cleared according to the wiki. But don't worry, the pace will be eased from here on out. As for the col, Asuna's just a rich girl!**


	7. The storm approaches

The sky always seemed to hold a dark color on the 27th Floor. Ronbaru was dark elf city, its mighty mountains teeming with ores for players to mine, alongside the seemingly endless labyrinths that were the source of treasures and fears, close calls and ultimate rewards. For being such a low floor, I wouldn't have expected Kirito to have an issue with it. But as I sat opposite him, my spoon playing lazily with my cheesy broccoli soup, I couldn't help but feel the resentment this place brought him. His black eyes were downtrodden and though he was now acting normally, I could see the tears still lurking in his orbs.

"Do you like the food?" I asked tenderly, hoping to distract his thoughts. Almost immediately he shook himself from his thoughts and looked up at me with a forced smile. "Oh, for sure! I guess I'm just used to stale bread with spreads." When people were troubled, the last thing to do was to bring up their worries, Ryou taught me that. So I would try my best to follow his advice. "Well silly, then dig in! You don't want its durability to wear out!" Kirito's eyes softened as he let out a chuckle and took a bite. "You know you sound just like Asuna when I dropped her sandwich once. She was upset I let her efforts go to waste." He smiled a bit as he took another bite. "Did you know she mastered her cooking ability recently?" My eyes went wide with surprise. "All the way?!" The black swordsman slowly nodded with a silly smile spreading across his face. "I know! Stupid right?" My eyes blankly blinked before I felt a chuckle creep up in my chest. To hear Kirito throw around little jabs like this felt so out of place, his eyes had taken on a playful demeanor and despite the hints of something darker within, hearing anyone call Asuna stupid just made my day. I let out a laugh before I tried responding.

"Why on earth did she spend so many points on cooking? That's so useless!" Kirito shrugged while letting out a grumble that conveyed something similar to 'Hell if I know'. "I would have put those points in a useful skill, like listening or stealth, but cooking, that's just useless in combat." I rolled my eyes at his talk about combat before smirking about blacksmithing. "Oh please, all you think is about fighting, I'll have you know I could be forging all sorts of armor with those skills." Another chuckle. "Oh please spare me the rant, I've heard enough about metals." My pink eyes mischievously narrowed. "Spare you? Kirito do you have any idea who I am!" I stood up and playfully stood over my dish, "I am Lisbeth master blacksmith! Forger of all Sw-" "Swords that break in one hit you mean." Kirito countered as he sipped on his cup of tea. He felt all was fine until he opened his eyes to find my mace hovering in front of his face.

"Aaahhh…" he started as he uncomfortable shifted in place as I clicked a button on the mace's handle, exposing a set of blades of my mace's head. "Alright…fine…except for that one which shall not be named." I held my face angry for just a moment longer before melting back into my seat with playful laughter. I happily put a spoonful of soup into my mouth before looking up at Kirito to see him shaken but grinning back at me.

Finally.

Whatever it was.

It was behind him.

Kirito, the strong knight that saved me from a dragon, was back.

* * *

Gaya nodded wisely as he looked at the first set of blades. "Hmmm…yes…these will do nicely." I threw my head back with relief at his words, my hands felt numb after hours of performing the same minute movements. Usually the orders kept me interested. After all, different blades required different forging techniques. But this order was simply just tedious as ever. The same kind of ambush, fast attack sword. One after another, after another, after another. My hands were just killing me.

"Good job. I'll show our customer then! Make sure to finish up the other swords as soon as you can. The orders are still piling up." Gaya's words seemed more like a scolding than encouragement. He took the first ten swords from my anvil and made his way up the stairs of my forge. He paused at the top to look over at Kirito who was inspecting his blade while sitting relaxed in a corner of the room. "Hey, see if you can get your knight to help you eh?" He spoke with a chuckle as he walked out. My face immediately felt a rush of heat as I sat up to retort. But I wasn't quick enough, the door was swinging by the time my brain worked out words to say.

Ugh. Comebacks were always like this.

Coming in after I needed them. Funny how the brain works isn't it?

I growled slightly as I absentmindedly massaged my arm. The titanium ores I had mined from the Labyrinth were sitting in a disorganized stack next to me as the warmth from the forge behind me made a layer of sweat trickle down my back. For a game focused on bringing a fictional world to life, it certainly did a good job at bringing even the annoying aspects of work to life. Exhaustion, throbbing arms…it was a level of reality I could do without.

"Hey, let me look at that." The tender voice tore me from my souring thoughts and suddenly the black dressed figure was now kneeling in front of me. Instantly my cheeks were warm as I speechlessly watched him take my forearms in hands. He unequipped his gloves and then worked his fingers into my arms, uncramping my muscles and tendons. I sat there in silence and glee. His tender touch was firm where it needed to be and soft elsewhere. Relief started to spread through me as he kept working at me. How could I do anything or say anything? It felt wonderful and I didn't want the moment to stop. My chest clenched up, I was afraid if I said the wrong thing everything would just shatter. So instead I sat there silently with a red flush across my face looking down at Kirito massaging my arms.

Only after what felt like an eternity did he stop. He held my hands in his palms and looked up into my face. "How does that feel?" Slowly my eyes looked up from his warm hands to meet his dark soothing orbs. My face betrayed my emotion, the red flush was all over my cheeks. A few moments passed and then a warm red spread across Kirito's face. His eyes softened, and he stumbled around for words. He was as nervous as me. "Uh…I mean…are your arms feeling…uh…better?" He was stuttering but he still held my hands in his own. Swallowing, my voice quivered, "Y-Yeah…they feel much better…where did you learn to do that?" The hot red flash across my face was unbearable. I wanted nothing more than to disappear and not act like a silly bumbling bee. But alas, here I was, sitting in front of my hero, holding his hands in mine.

Kirito worked up some courage, though he often wasn't the best with words, he knew how to make them work when necessary. "Uh…well…I used to get a lot of cramps in my arms after fighting all day. It made it hard to fight on my own without…without…uh…" he fumbled his words as his fingers lightly traced my own. He gently rubbed his thumb over mine as he looked down from my eyes. His cheeks were still a bright red and I couldn't help but stumble over various ideas and thoughts in my mind. Part of me hoped he was feeling the same things I was and another part of me was saying that he must just be embarrassed I was acting weird. The frustration and war raged in my head as we sat there, awkwardly looking at each other while our fingers played with each other's hands.

I'm still not sure how much time passed but eventually I breathed out and moved his hands to his knees. "Ok…well…I should get back to work, those swords won't make themselves you know…" "R-R-Right! I should get going too! I mean I've been away from the front lines for nearly two days…" Awkwardly we both stood up and pretended to look busy. My hands immediately went to getting some ores and busily tending to the forge. Kirito was suddenly interested in his Dark Repulser and the two of us just stood there, seemingly so preoccupied with our own tasks, yet trying not to ignore the presence of the other.

Finally Kirito took a few steps towards the door and I felt my heart lurch. As awkward as it was, I still wanted him to stick around, to joke and poke fun at my sword making. I wanted him to just stay here…where it was safe…with me. "D-Don't forget you can come by whenever you want ok!" I called out to him. His eyes turned to face mine and he let out a warm smile. "Don't worry, I will." He turned to take another step before I stopped him again, "Hey, be safe ok!" My worries and fears were starting to bubble up to the surface. I wanted him to be OK. To not risk his life out on the front lines so recklessly, alone and without support. The black figure paused on the stairs before taking a step down. "I'll be ok Liz. But I do have to go back…" I couldn't settle for that answer. "Right…just message me when you're checking in for the night ok?" my voice was a little shaky as I took a step towards him, eyes filling with nervousness as I waited for his answer.

"Of course Liz!" came the quick reply. His eyes shone with a radiant energy as he looked at me. With a small wave he turned again towards the door before my voice stopped him again. "H-Hey…uh…thanks for the…" "No problem. Any time." His smile was now confident, and I could sense a bit of elation in him as he turned and walked out of my Forge.

His goodbye was just like him. Cool, collected, but uplifting.

With a spring in my step I bounced over to my Forge and chucked a few titanium ores into the fire. My arms were still shivering from his warm and tender massage. I felt like I could a million of these stupid fast attack swords. There was nothing keeping me down now. All thanks to Kirito.

* * *

Exhaustion.

That was the only thing on my mind as I crawled up the stairs of my forge. I couldn't be more thankful that there was no need to ever take a shower in this world. I simply collapsed onto my bed. It was large and comfortable, one of the little spoils I enjoyed from the income I gathered as a blacksmith. Painful cramps coursed through arms after the long afternoon of blacksmithing. Though I had enough ore to get the order done, I was seriously doubting my arms could last long enough to make all the blades. Each of the twenty blades I had managed to add to the tally had been exhausting and mind numbing. But at least I was past the halfway point. Only another twenty and I would be done making ambush blades for the rest of the game.

Rolling over, I absentmindedly unequipped my clothing. As comfortable as the dress Asuna had bought for me was, laying on the bed with nothing on was even more comfortable. My eyes stared up at the domed ceiling of my room. With a light yawn my sights drifted over to the window. The circular glass window over-looked the small village of Lindas. The little roofs of the village gave way to a pasture of green meadows and open fields, cobblestone paths and a beautiful medieval world. Somewhere beyond that Kirito was fighting for all of us. It felt…unjust for such a beautiful world to be tainted with the knowledge that it was a lethal trap for everyone in it. Yet…with each passing day it was easier to accept that reality.

But _they_ still fought for us. Every player in Sword Art owed their hopes of getting out, getting back to the real world, to the players on the front lines. But those front lines were so incredibly dangerous. It still bugged me that Kirito was all alone out on the front lines. Alone, with no freaking help. It drove me mad, crazy even. How could he be so stubborn to fight alone, knowing of the players who died out there? Why was he ok with that? Clearly Asuna knew about his shenanigans, but why didn't she try to help him out more?

"Ugh…she probably has problems with her clan. She can't be everywhere..." my hollow voice echoed in my room as I massaged my arms close to my waist. Suddenly a little beep altered to an incoming notification. Wincing, my hand moved across to the messages tab of my interface. At the top was Kirito's latest message:

 _'Hey Lisbeth, just letting you know I'm checked into an Inn for the night. I think we're getting close to wrapping up this floor, shouldn't be long now. Oh I got a drop for a metal you might want to look at. It's called Adamantium Aluminum. Maybe you can find a use for it? Anyway, I'm hitting the sack for the night, I think I can stop by later this week! See you soon!'_

My lips played with a gentle grin. He remembered to message me. To look out for materials…for me…he was a really good friend. I promptly shook my head and buried it sideways into my pillow. Friend. That's probably all I was to him. I mean, he had been with Asuna and they weren't dating. Maybe it was because he wanted to be alone. It explained why he still fought alone. He probably was only sticking around because I was a nice break his hectic life.

I cracked open an eye to read his message again. His words, promising to stop by later this week burned themselves into my mind. I glanced at a calendar I had hanging on my wall. It was a Wednesday…perhaps he would come by for the weekend…maybe we could have a real adventure. Hope was clawing at my mind as a feeling of desperation swept over my chest. Why? Why was I so hung up on this guy? A sigh left my lips as I began to reflect on everything leading up to this point.

The days in grade school, the superficial friends I had, the just…boring life I led. It was rather sobering to think about the other world at times. No wonder I was feeling nervous and leaping at every chance I had with Kirito, he was simply so different. This whole world was just so unlike anything I had ever experienced. I used to just get up morning after morning and go to school, do assignments and then geek out over games or other stuff. I was kind of a nerd, I enjoyed the stuff most girls didn't take part of. Metals, tools, working on things like a bike or a moped, it all came easy to me. It was interesting, and it kept my hands working. Each task helped push away my emotions, bury my worries and fears under a heap of interesting gadgets and articles. It…it kept my mind off of the loneliness I often felt. The feeling of dread that was in the back of my chest, taunting me of an empty unfulfilling future. Perhaps that fear was what pushed me to want to just quit the game so aggressively on that first day. My friends, hobbies, and everything I gave meaning to was back in the real world. To start from zero…with nothing to keep my mind busy…I had just wanted to give up on everything. Yet when Ryou, Gaya, and Zaki offered me blacksmithing, well, it felt like the tinkering I did in the real world. Another activity to bury the dread and fear. It's probably why I had agreed to blacksmithing so quickly. It was after all right up my alley. It was familiar.

Wasn't it sad though? To go for something familiar in such a new and enticing world? "I fight monsters here though, I do exciting things…" my voice whispered weakly into the empty room. Almost instinctively I went to cover my face, to hide the shame of not being brave enough to go after adventures in a world made for adventure. Instead I let out a cry of pain, my arms cramped up painfully as I moved them.

"Oh for crying out loud…there has to be some potion for this, right?"

Teeth clenched as I bit the edges of my tongue. I could feel tears sliding down my face. Kirito was out there, having an awesome adventure, and here I was crying over some virtual pain in my bed that was decked out much too like home. How pitiful.

I don't know when I feel asleep, only that as I did, I felt a sweat release from all my worries.

* * *

My left hand worked at my right wrist. Carefully massaging the tendons, just the way Kirito had done down in the forge.

Before me stood a robed man. He was wearing a scarf and merchants clothing. A heavy tunic was draped over every part of his body. Very little aside from his eyes showed. But his eyes were a brilliant green, piercing, and playful. They were some of the most striking eyes I had ever seen, no doubt accentuated by the fact there wasn't much else to look at on the man's face. Yet something subtle seemed to lie behind them, something that tugged at my mind. I couldn't figure it out, and it was only after his green orbs met my pink eyes, that I gave up trying to figure it out. After all, I didn't want to be rude.

"What do you think of the quality?" Ryou asked with a hint of fear. Despite knowing the blades were of top-notch craftsmanship, Ryou always felt nervous when offering any of our guild's work to a customer. He always felt he could offer more, as if he had to truly impress a customer to make sure a sale went through.

The man took the blade in his hand and charged it up. His hand gripping it as he appeared to look for the blade's center of balance. Then he swung the fast attack blade over his head and down towards the earth. It moved with a blinding speed. But it was still visible. The blades energy lagged visibly with the sword, and though the movement was smooth and well-practiced, a smirk played across my face. The rush of wind from the blade played with my hair.

He was slow. Much slower than Kirito. "Wow what power!" Gaya shockingly spat out. He was astounded as watching the robed man swing again and again, practice blow after practice blow. I silently cocked a questioning eyebrow. With his beta tester status, I would have expected Gaya to have seen people with such high sword skills but if even he was surprised by this man, then I had to really count myself lucky to be friends with such a powerful sword wielder. The smirk continued to play on my lips, reminding me of when Kirito had deflected the ice dragon's breath attack into the sky. This guy had nothing on Kirito.

After a few more swings, the man set the blade down on our counter. "These truly are magnificent blades." He sounded quite impressed, even if all we could see were his eyes. "Thank you for crafting these, and now I must hold up my end of our agreement," a screen came up and he put in the exact amount of col he had promised our guild earlier. A massive payout for the order of swords. Ryou smiled as he accepted the transaction and turned over the wares of my fifty swords. "You know sir, you should be thanking Lisbeth here, she's the one behind the amazing swords. She crafted each one over the past few days." A warm comforting hand rubbed my shoulder. I beamed with pride. It may have cost me my arms and left a deep-seated hatred of the fast attack sword type in my heart, but it was all made up for by Ryou's praise. The man sure knew how to boost my ego.

The green eyes settled on my face as the strange man nodded. "You really are quite talented. These blades will come quite in handy, I can assure you of that." His voice was thankful, but a tad unsettling. Something was still off in my mind. "Well of course! No problem, if you ever need them repaired, my shop is on the 48th floor, don't hesitate to stop by!" The man let out a small chuckle as he put the blades into his inventory. "Of course then, if I don't stop by, then one of my friends certainly will." Ryou nodded and shook the man's gloved hand. "Well you're more than welcome anytime. I'll still insist that you pay normal prices, but I won't turn down an offer." The man nodded silently and left our Ronbaru based store silently. It was clear he was pleased, but he was still so weird about everything. Just the way he carried himself was even unsettling.

Still, my mind didn't dwell on our customer for too long. Instead Zaki's hands playfully rubbed into my shoulders. "Well Liz, truth be told, I didn't expect you to get the order done so quickly. We ought to celebrate! This is the biggest payday we've ever had! Three times the payout for each sword! I smell chocolate cake for you! Let's go up to Mishe to celebrate!" I felt myself swell with joy and pride. Celebration. Great. They weren't still mad at me for leaving them scared while I was on a dragon adventure. Instead they wanted to treat me and the guild to a job well done.

I deserved this chocolate cake. Arm cramps be damned.

It almost felt like one of the little celebrations we held every so often before I met Kirito, back when we were still all a family living in one shop. Yet it also felt different. So many things had happened since then, and despite still feeling like the daughter of Ryou and company, I also felt independent. I owned my little home and worked like anyone else for my pay. Truth be told it wasn't a bad _life_.

My mind swirled around that thought. _Life._ Amazing that I could call this existence in a game, a life. How could it not though? Ryou and Gaya were talking about swords and the business while Zaki and I laughed at mishaps we had while blacksmithing. The little comments about an ore breaking, or realizing we were making the wrong blade half way through a forging. Even the little yelps of pain as the forge flickered and nipped at our arms. They were all the familiar funny stories that we had all experienced. Especially Zaki, as he was crafting some of our best swords this month.

It was all friendly laughter and jovial chattering, but an unspoken topic hung in the air as our conversations dragged on.. It was only after the first round of drinks and appetizers that finally Gaya finally turned to me with a mischievous smile. "So then Liz. How much did help did your dark knight give you?" his eyes danced with delight as his mustache seemed to dance around with glee.

Right to the point. How lovely.

"Uh…well…he just hung out, he was just joking around!" The medieval pub of sorts was teeming with life, and I couldn't be happier that with so many people in the town of Mishe, our little conversation was getting drowned out in the evening hustle and bustle of the pub. But even if others couldn't hear my voice or our conversation, Ryou and Zaki certainly could.

"Oh that's right Gaya, our little Lisbeth has gone and found herself a boyfriend." My face went red with rage and embarrassment. "Zaki! He's not my boyfriend!" Ryou, the man I often called Dad, decided it was the perfect moment to interject, "Oh not yet, but he soon will be." His playful wink sent another hot flash soaring through my body.

"DAD!" I stood up exacerbated from the table, my fists clenching tightly as I fought in vain to keep the red blush from glowing any brighter. It was all futile as the chuckles and laughs of the three men roared to life. Some people cheerfully snickered or laughed at the bar while others simply tried to peer in curiosity at our conversation. After all, it wasn't often that a family of players was found in the game.

I pouted as I looked out of the window. Snow was falling lightly, it was still early February after all, but the falling snow also felt happy. Nothing dreary. As much as I felt embarrassment at the comments from my adoptive family, I couldn't help but hope they were right. But how could I hope for such a thing when Kirito still felt so far away? Not just in distance, he was probably fighting off on floor 65 or something like that after all, but also in emotion. I still barely knew anything about him. I knew he had a troubled past…that much was clear from his breakdown in the Labyrinth, and that he was a badass solo/beta tester on the Assault team. Just the cool hero side of him. That's all I knew. How could I even hope to call him my boyfriend when I knew so little about him, how could he call me his girlfriend if we still only had known each other for a bit?

"He's always away on the assault team, fighting on the front lines…" my voice was now melancholic. I just wanted him near me. "Oh on the contrary. I did some digging on this boy," my eyes turned to look at Gaya. Shock spread through my face, "You're stalking him?" Gaya let out a hearty chuckle, "No! Not at all, but the rumor mill is always going. They call him the black swordsman, this Kirito boy. He's quite the powerful player, though he keeps to himself a lot." I pouted and turned back to the window, all stuff I already knew. Ryou spoke up, "So, for a player who is usually solo to then start hanging out with the same girl repeatedly over the past few weeks, it naturally makes people ask questions." He winked at me as the waiter came with more food. The aroma was delicious, and I could feel the feeling of embarrassment start to get replaced with curiosity. As I shoved delicious food into my mouth, I continued to listen eagerly to Gaya's words, lapping up the information he laid at my feet. While I couldn't deny that taking in this information making me feel like a stalker, I was just simply too curious to learn anything I could about Kirito.

"I mean apparently he's been taking it easy in the past few days, just as the Assault team was getting ready to finish off the next floor, there he goes and disappears. Turns out he was just hanging out with you." Gaya smiled and Ryou let out a chuckle. "You may be too young to see it, but that boy has a thing for you." Ryou's eyes narrowed as voice deepened, "But if he dares hurt you…I'll hurt him back…" Zaki then spoke as seriously as Ryou. "Oh I'm ready to back you up with an alibi." My voice spilled out as a shrill shriek. "What! No! Don't hurt him!" I shook my head as the trio laughed more, a new wave of embarrassment spilled over me as I realized I had played right into their hands.

Teasing. It was the one thing I was good at, but being teased myself was something I didn't know how to respond to. Instinct was what I was operating on.

Eventually the conversation began to take a turn from light talking and teasing to a trip down memory lane. Though it was often considered taboo, we shared some stories from the 'other life' we had. Ryou was an engineer at a local engine design company, Gaya worked in manufacturing while Zaki was a business man for the local region. It was nice to hear them talk about their families, their commitments and their desire to share the memories from this world with them. The hint of regret didn't escape them however, as great as this world could be at times, it was still a virtual world. Our real lives were still on the other side. But sometimes I couldn't share their enthusiasm to return to the real world. The world on the other side meant I would lose some of the interesting things I had in this world. I didn't know anyone like Kirito on the other side, my friends were undoubtedly moving on. For all the boring choices I made in this world, it still was a world that held potential for something more. But the idea of going back to a boring life, a life without some of the adventures I could have here, left an empty taste in my mouth.

Strange, how with each passing day my own desire to escape this death game lessened ever so slightly…

"Speaking of dances, I hear there's one coming up soon. The spring ball right?" My thoughts yet again got torn from my increasingly deep train of thought.

"A dance?" confusion laced my voice as I wondered how the conversation had gotten on this subject. Zaki turned puzzled to me, "Yeah, I thought you would have heard about it, we missed it last spring, but in the beginning of March there's a big ball down the first floor. I hear this year though they're changing it to floor 47." Ryou nodded as he seemed to inspect me. "Apparently it was ton of fun, but now with the new floors, its going to be even better. Quite the fun player run event if you ask me." Gaya chuckled while cracking a sobering joke, "I hope I don't have to see too many of these, they may be fun and all…but I really hope we're out of here by next spring…" Zaki hit his shoulder in a playful manner. "Oh lighten up, it'll be a nice change of pace from the grind we got going on." "You mean the grind you have going on, what the forging has you all bummed down too?" Ryou snickered. "Maybe," Zaki retorted, "I have no idea how Liz churns out so many swords in a day." Another giggle welled up in my chest as a blush came over my face, the warm tender massage that Kirito gave me was at the forefront of my mind, "Well I have my ways…" the men all chuckled, and the night went on.

* * *

It wasn't until much later that exhaustion finally overtook me. I was stuffed full of Chocolate cake and plenty of food. I had laughed my way through a few hours of jokes and stories with my family, and now…now my body begged me for sweet sleep. It wasn't long before I found myself standing at the teleport gate of Lindas, waving goodbye to Gaya and Zaki. After giving Ryou a hug, I departed for my smith shop. Even in the darkness of the night, the cobblestone was familiar to my tired eyes. Each step taken as if the sun were still shining brightly from the beautiful blue sky.

A yawn here, and a stretch there and finally the distinctive water wheel of the shop came into view. I sighed with relief, knowing that a comfortable bed was just a few minutes away.

 _ **"HELP ME! ANYONE PLEASE! HELP!"  
**_  
The cry pierced the silence of the night and immediately chilled my chest. Adrenaline started coursing through me as my tired eyes, now wide eyed and filled with fear scanned the road and meadow near me.

One green diamond was racing towards me. It emerged from the bushes of the forest on the edge of Lindas. Underneath the diamond a figure was visible. The outline was that of a man, ragged and injured, rushing towards the city's limits. The safe zone.

As he bolted towards me, two other diamonds emerged from the forest. My body froze as I looked at them. A dreaded orange color filled in the little diamonds and suddenly I understood the man's incessant fear, he was being hunted by none other than player killers.

"Come on! You can make it!" my shrill voice split the quiet night. Ice seemed to take over my chest as my mace wavered in my stiff hands. All the sleepiness evaporated, replaced instead with a newfound fear and tension. Never had I even seen an orange diamond, much less a player being hunted by such a person. They were the stuff of stories, antagonists to add flavor to the Assault team's tales when they visited my shop or to make the adventures told in bars or taverns that extra bit exciting. My rational mind knew they were real, that real murderers could really be in this world. But my emotional side was convinced I would never meet them. I avoided danger like the plague. Any area I heard was dangerous I just steered clear. Rarely did I hunt alone, or fight monsters. Every action I took in this game was taken to stay alive.

Almost immediately the fears from back in the square on the first day came swirling back. All my thoughts and desires to live an adventurous life in this world vanished. Worry and fear instead took their place in my body.

As I stared at the man running towards me, his eyes locked with mine. His desperation became mine. He was so close to the safe city limit. Instinctively I felt my hand stretch out towards the man, vainly hoping to pull him into the city's safe zone. Warmth filled my hand as the stranger's hand desperately clung to mine. Summoning every bit of my strength I yanked the man towards me. His momentum carried him right into me and our bodies stumbled backwards before crashing onto the cobblestone path. Heavy breathing and raspy words started to spill out of the man. "Th-Th-Thank you, m-miss…" Panickily he looked back at his aggressors.

At the edge of the city of Lindas stood two orange diamonded players. The slender one was decked out in a blue shirt and held a sword at his side while the other, a larger bulky man dressed in green, wielded an axe. Their sets of brown eyes glared with hatred towards me. As the survivor back peddled on the cobble stone, I stared back at these players. Even though the city's limit, indicative of a player safe zone, protected me, genuine fear from these player killers crept through me. They couldn't hurt me, but they certainly scared me. "You haven't heard the last from us Keyes." The words were spat out with venom lacing them as one of the player killers stared down the frightened survivor next to me. Slowly they began to walk away and towards the forest. Sharp breaths ripped at the Keyes's chest as he stared them down. Tears began welling up in his eyes as my hand reached out to comfort him. I had only faced death once in this game, and I knew how terrified I felt, but I had Kirito to comfort me. This man was alone, with no one but a stranger next to him. As I reached out towards him in some vain attempt to offer comfort, the man let out a blood curling shriek.

"WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" shocked I pulled back my hand as I watched Keyes howl at the still visible orange diamonded figures. "YOU MURDERED EVERYONE I CARED ABOUT! WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT!" His yell was pained, agitated, and incredibly heart wrenching. He clearly was a survivor of a guild that had just been killed. Involuntarily tears started to fester in my own eyes as the mere thought of Ryou or Gaya or Zaki getting killed came to mind. I wouldn't be able to cope with their deaths. I probably would just let myself be killed if I lost them…

"What…happened…Keyes?" my voice tried to offer solace to the man as he sobbed into his knees. The darkness of the night hung over us as we huddled on the cobble stone path. After an eternity the man stopped sobbing and composed his words.

"Titan's hand…they killed us…I'm…I'm…" he swallowed as the chilling realization finally settled in. "I'm the last survivor of the Silver Flags…"

The empty night enveloped us as I sat next to this man; tearfully sobbing and mourning his fallen friends.

* * *

 **A/N: HEY! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. If you're yet to celebrate your holiday or already celebrated it then I certainly hope you had a blast! Graduate school can be a source of stress and delay. So you're not getting an apology from me hahahah. As I say on my profile, my upload schedule is terrible on a good day and downright atrocious for the rest of the year.**

 **This chapter wraps up my uploads for 2018. Hope you all have an excellent New Years and I will see you all in January!**

 **As always leave a review or comment! Your reactions really help keep me going!**


	8. The Hunt begins

**A/N: *Gasp* An Update already?! Yeah. It's my "day after my birthday" present to you lot. Enjoy!**

* * *

The dull sound of boots tapping back and forth echoed throughout the shop floor, accompanied by the muffled sound of frantic talking and sobs. The tea kettle let out a screech of steam and my hands quickly pulled the hissing pot off from the fire of my forge. Despite not having been hurt, despite having complete safe in the city limits, my nervous shaky hands still managed to spill hot water onto the counter. Nonetheless, enough of the hot liquid made it into the cups I was aiming for. Summoning up my inventory I placed some sweet green tea bags into each of the cups and took a moment to compose myself.

It was nearly three in the morning and every limb of my body was demanding sleep. Every joint ached with a longing desire to just rest on something, anything remotely soft. But my mind was the complete opposite. Once as sleepy as my limbs, it was now racing a million times a second. Fear, trepidation, and utter terror pounded through my veins. Tonight had been the first time I had ever seen an orange diamond, never mind facing a duo head on. The protection of the city limits had driven the criminals off but the glare, the anger that they held in their eyes had only just begun to sink in. There was no doubting it, I was probably a target now. A target for them to hunt, to scare, to threaten.

My hands gripped the tray tightly. As tightly as I could, given the volley of emotions coursing through my veins. I worked up the courage to move and soon I found myself in the presence of a broken man, and a courageous knight.

"They…they fooled us all…a surprise attack…when we—" The man broke down sobbing once more. In front of him the source of the dull boots knelt before him. Quivering slightly, I placed the tray on one of my weapon racks and handed a cup to the weeping man hunched over a seat.

"Here, drink this, it will help ease your nerves…" The broken husk of a man gazed up at me with hollow eyes. "T-Th-Thank you miss." He took the drink and began lapping it up, eager for anything to distract his mind. I turned to the kneeling knight. "I made some for you too…thanks for coming again so quickly." The knight patted the man's knee and stood up. Suddenly a strong set of arms wrapped themselves around my torso and pulled me in. I didn't dare disturb the moment, instead I took in the warm sensation, closing my eyes and melting into the embrace.

"Thanks Liz…I'm so glad you're safe." He pushed me away just enough to look me in the eyes. "Don't ever do that again though…these player killers…they could have pulled you out of the city and killed you…this isn't a game Liz…" Anger quickly welled up inside of me. "I know that you idiot!" My tired fist shook as the rage began to dissipate as quickly as it came. A tired sigh took ahold of me and I found myself resting my forehead against the crook of his neck. "I just didn't know what to do Kirito…I couldn't let him die, I had to help…"

A breath of relief. "I know. I'm glad you did. Maybe now we can finally hunt these players down once and for all." I pulled back with an incredulous look on my face. "What do you mean hunt them down?" Kirito fell silent. His black eyes looked at the broken man, still shaking and trembling, clearly in shock from the battle he had survived. "No one has survived an attack from Titan's hand before. So, all we've ever had to go on is rumors. But now? Now…we have names…descriptions…player faces…even recent player positions." A small smile touched his lips as he looked down at me. "We can hunt these bastards down once and for all, all thanks to you Liz. You saved a witness, and maybe…other players too."

Kirito calmly moved past me and began drinking from his cup of tea, meanwhile my heart began beating a thousand times a second. Kirito was driven, powerful, and cunning. That much was clear from the way he survived for so long on the front lines, how he kept his cool when in the dragon pit, and the way he was able to fight onwards with no support. But he was incredibly stubborn. Sword Art's computer enemies were one thing; they were predictable and gave clear warning signs when they were powering up and ready to attack. People were a whole other ball game. I had never fought a human, but even I knew any human player was far and above more difficult to tackle, being almost impossible to predict. Player killers…they were masters of fighting humans.

"You're not going to go hunt these people down, are you?" Kirito leaned against one of my shop display cases and offered me a simple shrug. "I don't know of anyone on the front lines who would be willing to follow this lead. They're the only ones strong enough to take on player killers. Besides we need those players on the front lines to be fighting in teams. I'm solo, I can fight whenever and wherever I want." He took another sip from the tea and closed his eyes contently. "Besides Liz, what's the point of clearing the game if there's no one left to walk free?" This guy was insane. "Kirito! You're crazy! Those are player killers! They're not AI you can just learn how to fight!" "I know that Liz." "NO! NO! NO!" My voice was no shrill and fiercely agitated; fear, desperation, and anger all mixing into one. "You can't just face these guys like this! They're dangerous! Look at what they did to Keyes's guild! You're just one player! You can't take them all on! I won't let you!"

"She's right you know…" The man was huddled over in his chair. There were tears on the floor. His tea cup, empty, was clutched tightly in his hands. "I appreciate you listening to me." His voice was shaky but somewhat composed. In my desire to talk to Kirito I had forgotten completely that he was there listening to us bicker. "I told you what I know and what happened, but these players are all at least level 40. I'm level 42 myself and I barely made it out alive. Don't be stupid, don't kill yourself for my vengeance." In my frustration I gestured wildly to the man, my arms trying to signal stubborn Kirito to pay attention to the man's words.

"I understand Keyes. I really do." Kirito sipped more from the cup before putting it on the tray. He kneeled in front of Keyes again and stared into his eyes. "But I'm no normal player. Level 40 players can't damage me. I could take on a dozen players and not even lose health. I'm more than capable of hunting them down." He put a friendly hand on Keyes's shoulder. "I want justice as much as you do. You provide a teleport crystal to the Army's prison, and I guarantee you'll going to get your money's worth." Keyes looked at Kirito with a fresh set of tears and a look of vengeance. "You…you mean that…" Kirito nodded before pulling up his inventory. He immediately transferred over a couple hundred col into Keyes's account. "Its not too late to get yourself to an inn here in Lindas. We can meet up in the morning. You've been through a lot. Go get some rest." Keyes nodded slowly and stood up. His body was at least functioning. "R-R-Right…I'll go do that." His hollow eyes turned to me. "Thank you miss…for saving my life…I…"

"Don't mention it. Stay safe tonight." It was late. As much as my mind was overjoyed that this man was still alive, my body was starting to get snappy. I needed rest.

"Let's meet up here at noon ok?" Kirito offered to the man. A simple nod and the last member of the Silver Flags left my store, walking out towards the town center where the inns were. Kirito waved and then turned towards me. "Thanks for messaging me when you did Liz." I yawned before nodding. "At first, I didn't know what to think, I just thought about making sure this guy was safe…but then I got scared they were going to hunt for me…" my voice trailed off as I thought back on the panic that overtook me as I realized the players had gotten a good look at my face. "I'm just glad you were still up." Kirito's face glowed a bright red as I finished my sentence. "Uh well…about that…I was asleep…I just have…alarms set for when I get messages from…certain people." "Wait what?" my tired mind naively tried to understand why he had an alarm set to my messages, but I was just too tired to think. I stood looking at Kirito for a few moments before my mind started to churn. _'Oh…I must be one of his only friends then…he probably has an alarm set for Asuna's messages too…'_

He looked at me sheepishly before continuing. "I mean…I just worry about you…you did jump in front a dragon after all…" gone was the blush, in its place a playful smirk. Ordinarily I would've been all too happy to retort. But it was way too late for that. "I'm so done right now Kirito…I have to sleep. See you in the morning…" Almost immediately Kirito's eyes went wide. "Well…wait up a second…don't you think its still a bit unsafe?" My tired mind churned more. Feelings of attraction and longing started to well up in my chest. Almost immediately my exhausted, overactive mind took a turn to earlier in the evening…remembering the teasing Ryou and the others had given me. It…It couldn't be true right? What they said? "Unsafe?...Well…I have to sleep…how can…you make me more safe?" _'Great going Liz, you sound just so perfect, so in control, when you're tired as hell.'_

Kirito rubbed the back of his head before letting another blush sneak across his cheeks. "Well I can stay the night, guard your room…and uh…yeah…" He was delightfully awkward. I knew I shouldn't, but I had to press on a bit. My sleepiness was starting to leave my mind, replaced with a longing desire that didn't want to be disappointed.

"My…uh…bed is big enough for the two of us…" the words spilled out nervously.

"Y-Yeah that works! You won't even know I'm there." Kirito stammered out the words.

I bit my tongue. I didn't want to ruin anything. I wanted to believe my mind, my heart. I wanted to believe he wanted me and didn't just want to protect me. Was I just a friendly player for him? Was that it? Was I just a friend? I didn't know the answer to those questions. And I didn't care. Not now anyway.

A blush exploded across my face. "Well then…uh make sure you're not wearing all that armor then…I don't want you tearing up my sheets." Kirito seemed to let out a sigh of relief before smiling at me. "Of course Lisbeth!"

It was nearly four in the morning when I found myself laying in bed. I had pulled the window drapes shut and I laid close to the windowsill. Beneath the covers I was wearing a simple night gown. It was what I wore most nights to bed. But on this night, it didn't feel like enough. I felt exposed as I heard the even breaths of Kirito beside me. The entire scenario felt both exhilarating and odd in my mind. Despite levels of exhaustion I had never felt before, I couldn't help but lay restless in bed.

Kirito was beside me. Even if he was just here as a protector, just for a night…I wasn't alone. To my mind, joy and elation swept simply pumped through my veins. In real life none of this would have been possible. None of this would have been fine with my parents…and frankly I had to wonder if Ryou would be ok with this. But right now? They didn't matter. I was in heaven.

"You can't sleep can you…"

I let out a yelp of surprise. "I-I-I didn't know you were awake!" Kirito simply chuckled. "Its not hard to tell you're restless, you shift a bit every few seconds." I was never in my life happier the room was nearly pitch black, because there was no way in hell I could suppress the wild blush of embarrassment coming over my face. "I…I…I…" my voice stuttered like a crazed school girl. Closing my eyes, I composed myself: "I d-don't usually have guests over…actually you're the first person besides myself to ever sleep here." I felt the bed shift and I knew Kirito was laying on his side looking at me. "Oh…sorry for keeping you up then." Another blush flooded up and I knew this one wasn't from embarrassment. My heart was now skipping beats. "Oh…no…its my fault…I'm being silly…"

Something warm touched my arm, it grazed my skin before making its way to my hand. "D-Do…you want to hold my hand again? Will that help you sleep?"

Kirito remembered. He remembered exactly what I had asked for back in the pit of the dragon. I couldn't believe it. I thought he had had forgotten. I had assumed he had been dreaming up of some other crazy escape plan. Instead he took note of my little request. If I really was just a friend to him, I was a damned close one.

"Y-Y-YES!" I almost yelled at him in my desperate, tired state. Realizing how I must have sounded; my voice offered a follow-up. "I-I mean…if its not too much tro—" "Of course not Liz." His voice sounded calm, almost relieved. Slowly I felt his fingers intertwine themselves with mine. His warm hands locked with my own before he shifted ever so closer to me. He was close enough I could feel the light breath of his on my skin. Finally, after an insane night, my body closed its eyes…and found peace. The soft even breathes of Kirito lulled me to sleep.

* * *

The game's alarm didn't have a snooze function. It wasn't something I could change the ringtone to. Instead my mind was simply forced awake at the desired time. When Kirito had mentioned to Keyes that we would all meet up at noon, I had set an alarm for ten thirty in the morning, thinking that at least I would be able to sleep several hours before setting off an adventure.

But as my eyes fluttered open by the game's invisible control on me, I instantly regretted setting the damn alarm. A splitting headache immediately took ahold of me and I only wanted to lay in bed forever. The night had been far more exhaustive than I believed it could ever have possibly been. Eating, laughing and drinking followed by another brush with death and then struggling to fall asleep. My body's response was simply to act like it was made of lead. Despite it all however, the drapes I shut had surprisingly kept out the light and though a million tiny hammers pounded on my forehead, my eyes were saved from a blindingly painful brush with death.

A warm thing began to prod at my cheek. "Oh, hey you're up." Wincing as I shifted in bed, I looked over to find Kirito sitting awake next to me. My mind struggled to put one and two together before deciding the only correct response was to let out a red flush across my face. "Y-Y-Yeah! I'm awake…how long have you been there?" Kirito leaned back a bit, he wore only a long set of pants and soft black shirt. He looked much different to his usual stoic appearance. Gone was the off putting and cold demeanor. Instead there was a warmness to him as he smiled down at me. "Hmm…I woke up pretty early. Force of habit, I guess. So, I kinda napped for a bit while waiting for you to wake up." He chuckled as he leaned in, "You fell asleep really quickly after I held your hand." Another flush, "W-w-well you offered!" a huff of embarrassment and frustration left my lips. "Doesn't matter if I fell asleep fast, my head still hurts."

"Best way to get rid of that is some morning hunting. But I'm going to guess that's not what you have in mind." I glowered at him. Of course, he would mention fighting.

"I want coffee and an Omelet. We have time to eat."

My face must have looked very angry because his reaction was priceless; the grin on his face was replaced with mild shock and a tinge of fear. "Alright…alright…you're not a morning person…I get it." It took most of my energy, but I suppressed a laugh. I suppressed a smile. Watching this confident player shrink back at my words…was more that worth it.

* * *

"So what's the plan exactly…" I innocently asked as Kirito watched me wolf down another omelet. The look of surprise on his face at my ability to eat wasn't exactly flattering but it was either this or go through a day all grumpy and whatnot. "…do you eat this much in the real world?" I paused long enough to shoot him another glare. "What kind of question is that? Don't I look just normal to you?" He held up his hands in a bid of mock fear. "Ok…ok…right…I didn't know that food could wake a player up like this." I nodded, satisfied there was some dignity to my eating habits. "Food is the only thing that wakes me up, maybe it's my version of hunting…"

"At least I make money when I hunt."

Another glare.

"Right! Well…" he let out a small chuckle before his eyes narrowed, his mind now clearly in the zone. "Keyes mentioned the player Rosalia. She's apparently a pretty and tall woman. Keyes's guild was looking for a rare item, it was a group healing crystal. Its obvious Rosalia wanted it. So, she got the Silver Flags to trust her and then she ambushed his guild once they acquired the item." I nodded watching entranced as Kirito's fingers danced around the table, drawing an imaginary map of the events he described.

"Rosalia is a green player. She doesn't kill anyone directly, but her guild does. So, the goal should be to find her, talk about getting a rare item and then lure her into joining our party. After we get the rare item, Rosalia will probably want it as well, so she'll hopefully ambush us."

"Hopefully…?" my voice sounded like a dying squeak as I listened to Kirito's plan. "…You're insane…" Kirito looked into my eyes and smiled. "I know, you've told me before." I wanted to chuckle but instead all I felt was a deep queasiness in my stomach. "Let me get straight…you're going to do everything that Keyes's guild did…so that Rosalia comes hunting right for you?"

"Yeah. Oh, and we'll have Keyes's corridor crystal ready to send these players right to prison when they ambush us."

His shining optimism couldn't be a further contrast to my sickening stomach.

"But Kirito! They're player killers! They'll tear you apart! You can't just lure them in! You gotta pick them all off one by one!"

Kirito closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. That won't work. You said it yourself Lisbeth, these people aren't AIs; they'll adapt to our strategy, so even if we pick off a few by taking them one on one, we'll lose track of the other players. Making them believe we're helpless and defenseless is the only surefire way we got to take them out all at once." He cocked his head to the side as seemed to lose himself in my eyes. "Besides, I'm not worried about fighting them. They can't really hurt me."

Everything he was saying made sense, except for his last sentence.

"What do you mean they can't hurt you? They're really high-level players!" his gloved hand waved off my concern with a light chuckle. "Oh, I guess I haven't told you then, I'm level 78 right now." His hand immediately flew to the back of his head and he rubbed it with a nervous twitch, as if he was expecting me to say something rude. "I guess I should have said that before…" Instead I had to collect my jaw from the floor as his words registered in my mind. After a few moments I found my voice: "You're level 78?!" shock ripped through my chest. I knew of people on the assault team as high as level 60, but never someone as high of a level as Kirito. This guy only kept surprising me at every turn.

"Y-y-yeah…I…should have told you after the dragon…but I've been almost forty levels ahead of you for a while now…" he seemed nervous as he put the staggering gap between us into perspective. "I…I can understand if you don't want to have me around…" He seemed afraid, almost sad as he spoke of the difference between us. I couldn't figure out why though… I knew monsters spawned according to the highest player level in a party, but why would he think I would be afraid of that? He clearly knew how to keep me safe, after all, he did save me from a dragon. So why was he scared of telling me?

"No! I want you around!" my fist pounded against the table, rattling the silverware, all while drawing the stares of some other people in the restaurant. "I just had no idea…you were so powerful." Kirito still seemed tense, "But what about…lik—" I cut him off, knowing exactly where his mind was wandering to, "Kirito, you've shown me you can save me from a dragon. I think I'll be fine hanging around you." His eyes seemed relieved, but his posture was still tense. However, on my end, I was feeling comfortable. No wonder he wasn't worried. There was no way a group of level 40 players could take on a player nearly at level 80. I leaned back and sighed, my stomach now feeling much more at ease knowing Kirito wasn't actually risking his life. But as I opened my eyes to smile at him, I was caught off guard by how stressed he looked. "Hey, Kirito, don't worry about me, I'm not going to be joining you on the front lines. I have a smith shop to run after all," his eyes met mine, "Just relax will you? I doubt we're gonna see any high-level monsters hunting these players down. As long as we stay away from high level dungeons, I'm sure we'll be fine." As he heard my words, his eyes softened, and he seemed to relax his tense posture. "Alright Lisbeth," he took my hands in his, much to my surprise, and smiled at me with determination. "As long as you're with me, I won't let anything happen to you." "You better not," I started with a laugh, "Otherwise Ryou will have your head."

* * *

Keyes put the dark colored crystal into Kirito's hand and then gripped his palms tightly. "Take care, this crystal is set right to location of the Army's Black Iron Prison." The man nervously looked into Kirito's eyes. "Please…be careful…but honestly, I want some justice, any justice…I'm just too much of a coward to face them myself." Kirito smiled and shook his head as he squeezed Keyes's hand.

"That's where you're wrong. They are the cowards for taking from others who work hard to get ahead in this world." He patted Keyes's shoulder, "You're smart for sitting this one out. There's no point in throwing your life away in this game." Keyes nodded and wiped his eyes again. "Right. Well then, don't let me keep you. Come back safe, will you?" Kirito nodded once again and tucked the corridor crystal into his inventory. "Don't worry, I plan to be back in a few days." He paused and looked at Keyes once more, "What are you going to do after I lock these bastards away?"

Kirito seldom cursed, I knew that because even when he was saving me, or when he felt embarrassed or even occasionally scared, he only let out yelps of fear or agitation. To get him to curse really was an accomplishment, and I bet it had no small part to do with someone murdering and taking someone else's life.

Keyes let out a small chuckle, the first time I had seen the man do something other than cry or look morose or afraid. "Well…if I'm honest, I've had it with fighting. As a guild we tried to be a rear guard of sorts to the assault team…we used to clear up monsters in some of the areas the assault team didn't go through too well." He let out a sigh before hanging his head low. "But those days…those days are behind me. I think I'll take up fishing for a change actually…they say there's some good fishing spots on Floor 22. I should probably get into that, make a bit of col and just relax." He took a small breath and his face seemed to grow somber. "I tried to fight the good fight and now everyone I knew is now dead…" Kirito solemnly nodded. "Well you can't go wrong then with Floor 22, its really beautiful and quiet there. As someone who's been on the front lines, I can't thank you enough for having helped to clean out stuff we missed. Don't worry about the front lines though, take it easy. I'll let you know when I've caught the people responsible for this." Keyes managed a weak smile and turned to face us, "Right. Well. I wish you two the best of luck, please…don't get yourselves killed, but dammit," his voice became a low growl, "Send those sons of bitches right to hell." Kirito extended his hand and gripped Keyes hand once more.

"With pleasure."

I waved a solemn goodbye to Keyes as I stood by Kirito. Pulling up my menu screen, I opened up my messages with Ryou.

 _"Hey Dad, just wanted to let you know I'm going to take off the next couple days, I did get that sword order done early anyway, so I'll be hanging out with Kirito! We're going just to Mishe! Don't worry, we'll be safe!"_

I winced a bit as I wrote the last part of the message. It was a lie. We were going to be hunting player killers. Despite everything I had ever said about dodging danger, I was starting to realize I was really someone willing to put all that stuff about safety aside for an exciting adventure. I guess in my own weird way I wanted to face the danger as long as I had a fighting chance. I didn't feel I had any chance on the first day of Sword Art. I had been afraid, alone and quite powerless. But now? I had an unstoppable force by my side. Player killers didn't even faze me now that I knew how powerful Kirito was. Still…the message to Ryou felt…short.

 _"I'll message you every day before bed. Love you guys! 3"_

Even if it was cheesy, it was true. I certainly wouldn't be where I was today if it wasn't for them. My name would have been crossed of on the wall on Floor 1…probably with the cause of my death being 'Fell from a great height'. I shuddered a bit as the thought crossed my mind. No, I certainly did love Ryou, Gaya and Zaki. They basically saved my life and made sure I survived. Survived long enough so I could build my own courage and go on adventures with amazing people like Kirito.

"All good now Liz?"

I minimized my messages tab before looking back at Kirito. It was the early afternoon and his head blocked out the sun in the sky, giving him a radiant and heroic look as the light scattered around him. "Goodness you look just like a hero." Kirito snickered as he realized I was in his shadow. "Please, I'm no hero…" his eyes looked wistfully towards the copy of the wall of players in Lindas. Each wall kept a copy of all the names of the players along with their cause of death. Kirito's voice was distant, "I haven't saved people I could have saved." Anytime he spoke negatively of himself it got on my nerves, "Hey you saved me! You're my hero ok!"

His face snapped right back to mine as a light blush came over him. I struck a nerve. If there's one thing I wished I could have changed about Sword Art, it was how it tended to overexaggerate player emotions, because there was no stopping the flush across my face either as I looked at him.

"Well then…we should get going…" his hand rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he suddenly became transfixed by the teleport gate in the middle of Lindas. "Wouldn't you agree?" I only smiled timidly as he took my hand and pulled me onto the gate with him. Standing by his side, holding his hand…it was intoxicating.

"Teleport Mishe!"

* * *

The afternoon was beginning to drag on and the forest's darkness was starting to get to me. "Are you sure she's going to be in here?" Agitation tugged at my voice as I waved my mace towards the direction of a shadow I didn't recognize. Kirito however remained indifferent to my struggles opting instead to walk around with his sword loosely by his side as we made our way through 'The Forest of Wandering' "Well Liz, even if she's not, it's the closest thing we have to a lead, we have to search the whole forest. Rosalia left the Silver Flags a few days before they were assaulted. Keyes still had her on his friend list at the time, and he checked up on her after she left. He had noticed she had been teleporting back to this forest for a while, so maybe she was with multiple groups when she planned her strike on the Silver Flags."

Another shadow moved and I swung aimlessly at the area in question. Every few steps I felt something new was jumping at me. Even though they probably weren't dangerous, the last thing I wanted was some big bug crawling up my back.

"You know, if you keep swinging your mace like that, you're only going to attract more bugs and forest life." I turned to glare at the black swordsman, only to find him absorbed in the map of the forest he purchased from a shop keeper. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE!" Kirito glanced up from the map before a sly grin crept along his face, "I just wanted to watch you squirm for a bit."

"You stupid idiot!" I immediately charged at him with my mace, partly angry and partly trying to vent some steam. As my mace came down however, I felt like I hit a solid wall. Opening my eyes revealed a stoic solid Kirito looking at the map with his free hand having raised a sword to hold back my Mace. He hadn't even paid my little bout of anger a second thought. He finally looked up from the map and smiled slyly at me. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to hit me." I let out a low growl of anger. "Show-off…" Kirito only grinned wider, "If I let you hit me then you would've turned orange for a while." My cheeks puffed out in anger. "Yeah…well…would've been worth it…" Kirito only let out a chuckle before going back to the map.

The evening dragged on as Kirito and I made our way through the forest. One by one we crossed the various sections of the forest before making our way deeper and deeper into the depths of the trees.

As I trekked behind Kirito, looking over his shoulder to peer at the map, I picked up a faint scream.

"Did you hear that?" Kirito immediately put his hand to my mouth as his eyes narrowed in the direction of the scream.

 _"PINA!"_

The shrill scream was now louder, and frantic. Accompanying it were some deep growls and an almost ape-like chanting.

Kirito immediately shoved the map into my hands. "Wait here!" Drawing his sword, he immediately dashed forward and disappeared from my sight. I had never seen someone move so quickly. I mean, he probably had moved that fast when he jumped to rescue me from the dragon, but I hadn't actually seen him do it. One second, he was next to me, the next, poof. Gone.

My body only stumbled a bit to the side as I stared in shock at the darkness that Kirito had disappeared into. "Wow…he really does move fast." I waited a few moments, desperately trying to listen for some other scream or call for help. But nothing came. Instead after several minutes a little notification crept up onto my messages. It was from Kirito:

 _"I saved a girl from a pack of Ape monsters. I'm fine but she lost her pet dragon. There's a rare item you can get on floor 47 to bring back the dragon. I think we can use this to track down Rosalia. Use the map to get back to Mishe, I know my way out, see you in town."_

A smile touched my lips. Oh Kirito, you are so cunning.

* * *

 **A/N: You see that? You see how I'm tying in the show?! WHOOO! This is actually a ton of fun to write. But you know what would make this absolutely incredible? If you left a review...its the day after my birthday...please leave a review? They keep me going and give me insight to what people like about this.**

 **In any case, guess what starts in a week? That's right, another semester of grad school. So don't expect an update for a while...maybe a month or so. Sorry about that, but like I said: "My update schedule is bad on a good day, downright atrocious for most of the year." Either way, to those of you in school or college, hope your semester starts out right. To those of you working, hope you make it through each day!**


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